


Take A Bow

by profane_bubble (giggling_bubble)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Awkward Sexual Situations, Confusion, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Date Rape Drug/Roofies, Drama, Eventual Romance, Eventual reveal, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2018-10-14 10:00:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10534161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giggling_bubble/pseuds/profane_bubble
Summary: Chloe and Adrien are going out on a 'date.' Alya decides to take Marinette out only to ease the tension, perhaps take her mind off of Adrien, and be open to the possibility of finding her alternative Mr. Right. It turns into a night to remember.**I don't own Miraculous.**DIsclaimer: There is NO rape. There is the use of benzodiazepines.





	1. World Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Chloe...Adrien...Chloe...Adrien...AAAAGGHHH!!!

Marinette is RUNNING to school. Her blue satchel is slung over her shoulder, the pink clutch draped across her chest, and her hair flopping with every bounce.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late..." Her breath was coming quickly. She paused at the base of the stairs, panting.

"Come on, Marinette, you're almost there. You can do it! You won't be late. You have three minutes left." Tikki was cheering her on.

Marinette gulped back her exhaustion and sprinted up the stairs. A delicate pink was gracing her cheeks and a glistening of sweat across her forehead. Her gasps were rasping through her throat as she grasped the door frame for support. Her whole world was spinning due to lack of oxygen. She was practically willing herself not to pass out by this point, but was failing. Her feet stayed put, but she could feel her knees start to tumble forward.

Adrien was standing in the classroom chatting with Nino when he heard someone gasping behind him. He turned to see Marinette holding onto the door frame, out of breath, and...collapsing! He ran towards the door just in time to catch her underneath the arms and lift her to safety. She was limp in his arms so he couldn't let go.

"Come on, Marinette," he encouraged as he walked her towards her desk.

Chloe approached them, "What are you doing, Adrien?"

"Helping Marinette to her seat."

Chloe's face contorted into mock offense, "Let someone else do that. I don't want rumors spreading that my boyfriend was feeling up Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"I'm not y--"

She placed a finger to his lips, "Just this once, because you're too nice for your own good. I don't want to catch you touching any girls other than me."

"Chloe," he growled.

She pouted at him, "I'm just protecting what we have, Adrikins. Plus, I bought tickets for our date!" She squealed and giggled, "I'm so excited!"

"That's great, Chlo," he nodded, "Come on, Marinette. Take a seat. Next time, take care of yourself and don't worry about being late. You could have fallen and gotten hurt."

"Th-thanks," Marinette whispered. Although, now she felt like she was going to throw up. Chloe and Adrien were dating? They were going out together on dates? Actual dates?

Alya saw Marinette turn green and ran to retrieve a trash can. "Here, here, here," she shouted slipping it in front of her friend.

Marinette proceeded to lean over it and throw up what little breakfast she'd eaten that day. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment. Not only did she just blow chunks in front of her crush, but she had collapsed in his arms moments before learning he was dating her biggest pain in the backside. She immediately felt the world spinning and passed out.

Marinette woke up in the nurses office, lying on a bed, with a cool rag on her forehead. The nurse, M. Curry, came to check on her.

"How are you feeling, sugar?" She put a thermometer in Marinette's mouth and a sphygmomanometer on her arm. "Do you want me to call your parents to have them come get you or try to go back to class?"

Her parents couldn't come get her for this. She did want to go home, though. She wanted to wallow in her sorrow, in her bed nest, watching rom-coms, with a big bag of chocolate and a bottle of wine. She was eighteen, after all. 

"Can I just walk home? I don't feel well, but my parents can't come get me."

She placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, "I'll see what I can do." Mrs. Curry disappeared from the room. Mari could hear her talking to the secretary, "She lives close enough, but I'd feel better if someone were to escort her home. What about the boy that carried her in? Oh, right, maybe a girlfriend would be more appropriate. I'll ask."

M. Curry returned with a sweet smile, "Do you have a friend who could walk with you?"

Marinette nodded, "Alya Cesaire."

"I'll have her paged."

Alya peeked around the door about five minutes later. "Hey there, girl. You feeling any better?"

Marinette frowned, her lip quivered, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "No," she admitted.

"You're not ill, are you?" Mari sniffed and Alya helped her up, "We'll talk when we get you home."

They walked in relative silence, until something Marinette had been wondering popped into her head, "How did I get to the nurse's office?"

Alya smirked, but then frowned, "It doesn't matter, Mari."

"It was Adrien, wasn't it?"

"Mari, he really is a great guy." That's when Alya saw the tears threatening to overflow. "Whoa, girl, when did you get so emotional about it?"

"I just can't believe he's dating Chloe."

"He doesn't look too happy about it," Alya grumbled.

"They still are. I'll never be on his radar in a million years. Stumbling, bumbling, stammering Marinette."

"Adrien likes you, Mari," Alya reassured, "He thinks you are sweet, and funny, and one of his best friends."

Marinette perked up a little, "How do you know?"

"Nino," Alya smiled, "They text a lot."

"I wish I could text him a lot," Marinette murmured.

"I'll let him know you want to," Alya smiled.

"NO!!" Marinette's eyes widened, "Alya...please, don't."

"I'll just drop it in casual conversation."

"Oh, Alya," Marinette didn't know if she should go on protesting or let her. She'd let Alya decide.

They got back to her house and Alya tucked her into bed, "Sleep well, beautiful. I'll see you later."

"Thanks, Alya."

"And don't worry about Adrien. Just try to put him out of your mind for a while. Okay?"

"Help?"

"Sure thing. I got you, girl."


	2. Numb

Marinette had been dragging herself out of bed all week, just trying to be civil and get through the day. She'd forced herself when a week later it was confirmed that Chloe and Adrien were truly dating. Adrien had taken Chloe out to the movies, just the two of them, and Chloe had pictures as evidence. She was curled up against his side and they were sharing a bag of popcorn. Marinette just wanted to curl up and die. Instead, she went numb.

Adrien had been as sweet, and friendly, and amazing as usual. It hurt Marinette to even talk to him so she'd avoid him as much as possible. On a positive note, she was no longer stuttering in his presence. They were sitting on the stairs of school when he arrived in his car.

"I'm going to go to class," Marinette sighed. Alya had noted that she was on time to class every day since they found out Chloe and Adrien were a thing.

Nino and Alya were both thankful Marinette had excused herself when a squealing Chloe threw herself all over Adrien. Even Nino was disgusted with his best friend.

Adrien could tell, but there wasn't anything Adrien could do. He couldn't really tell his friends that he'd pretty much been told by his publicist that he needed to date Chloe because her connections looked good. He didn't care, but his father was there to push the issue. Needless to say, he was dating Chloe. Adrien was pretty upset about it all. He walked around mopey and depressed at school, Chloe wouldn't let him hang out with his friends, not that they'd hang out with him now anyway, but it just sucked. Sitting at his desk was a reprieve from the constant assault from Chloe.

When his publicist notified Chloe that he'd be taking her to the movies he was told she was instructed not to touch him. Well, Chloe didn't get that memo. She'd spent most of the night taking selfies of them while she pressed herself all over him. She tried to grab his hand, hang all over him, and even tried to kiss him. Ew, no. Adrien did NOT want to kiss Chloe. He'd quickly deflected with his hand, "Um, I feel like I'm catching something."

This day was no different. Adrien finagled out of Chloe's grasp and high tailed it to the classroom. When he got there it was empty except for Marinette. She was hunched over her notebook sketching.

"Hi, Marinette," he smiled.

Marinette didn't look up, but managed to grunt out a, "Hi."

Adrien sat in his seat wondering why she was acting so strange to him. He expected her to be upset, like Alya and Nino, but for some reason Marinette had taken her offense to a whole other level. She'd been avoiding him like the plague. He'd arrive, she'd disappear. He'd walk towards her in the hall, she'd turn around. He'd go to sit at the table with Alya and Nino and she'd get up and leave. He couldn't figure it out. It really hurt his feelings.

He couldn't take it. With a huff he turned to face her, "Did I do something to hurt you, Marinette?"

She didn't look at him, but he saw her face fall. She let out a shaking sigh like she was close to tears. Her voice cracked, "Chloe?" The way she said it, like he'd stabbed her, made it apparent that she was taking it personal. He had started to talk to her, to clarify, when there was a squeal behind him. Chloe. He rolled his eyes and turned to meet her.

"Don't be talking to that Marinette, Adrien," Chloe scolded, "I don't want you associating with someone like her."

"She's my friend, Chloe."

Chloe huffed, "Some friend. She doesn't look like your friend. She looks like she's pissed off at you."

"She's got a point," he sighed. Marinette heard it, but Chloe seemed to disregard it.

"LOOK!!" Chloe got in his face, "I got tickets! It's a date!"

He groaned, "Okay."

"Yeah!" she cheered, "You and me, Adrihoney. You and me!"

"Can't wait," he muttered through gritted teeth.

Marinette felt another wave of nausea and she swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat. Alya came in and saw Marinette shooting daggers at the blonde girl with her eyes.

"Whoa, girl, what did I miss?" she whispered.

"Chloe and Adrien are going on another date...one that requires tickets," Marinette dropped her head to the desk.

"Well," Alya smiled, "That just reminds me. I have something special planned for you and I."

"What is it, Alya?" still not looking.

"There's a masquerade coming up for young adults and I want you to come with me. You can't say no."

"ALYA?!" she whined.

"You will have fun. I promise. Who knows? You might be able to forget Adrien and find Mr. Right. It'll be fun."

"Yeah, yeah," Marinette muttered. "When is it?"

"Friday! I've been planning it since last weekend when you got so bummed. There'll be booze so you can get your drink on and music. It'll be awesome."

"I'm sure." Marinette couldn't manage the level of enthusiasm Alya was exhibiting, but Alya was just thankful she didn't say 'no.'


	3. Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A picture really is worth a thousand words...even if you can't remember what the words are.

There had been two weeks of Chloe hanging all over Adrien and Marinette was becoming better at handling it. When Adrien greeted her she said, 'Hi,' with a smile. It was a pained, faked, grimace like smile, but a smile nonetheless. He could sit at the same table as her, provided it was far away, and she wouldn't run away as soon as he got to school. Although, truth be told, Marinette had to hold back tears every time she heard Chloe scream, "ADRIKINS!"

On a positive note...Marinette completely lost her stutter. And she hoped it was not ever coming back.

It was more of a masochist personality trait, but Marinette realized she couldn't live without him. Even if she was unhappy about it, she felt compelled to be around him; Marinette was addicted and Adrien was her drug. His absence had made her crave his presence. She found herself staring at his face more. It was a change from not looking at him at all. Even through the pain she was feeling better...better in that she no longer felt like she wanted to curl into a ball, cry herself into oblivion, and clench her jaw until her teeth broke. Better.

Plus, after all of this she realized she was seeing Adrien more as a person than his persona. She found him much more endearing than handsome. This was something she noticed the more she allowed herself to observe him; and after getting rid of everything she had Adrien related on her walls. Instead of swooning, and losing her mind, she was able to see him as a human being. Marinette was not so sure this newfound endearment wasn't worse than her blind lust. This attraction to him, the desire to know him, to relate to him, to see his flaws, to make him more human, not only made him more endearing to her, but harder to push away. This feeling didn't sting...it ached. She often wondered if that is what love feels like, real love. If it did, she didn't even want to know. She just wanted it to stop.

* * *

 

Nino, on the other hand, had been BESIDE himself texting his friend.

Nino: "DUDE?! Why are you going out with Chloe...again?!"

Nino: "What the hell, man? You can't even stand her."

Nino: "Fine, don't text me back."

Adrien: "I'm handling it Nino."

Nino: "Handling what? You're not handling anything. We need to talk."

Adrien: "Back me up. I'll get you a ticket to the thing tonight. Don't tell anyone it was from me."

Nino: "I'm there, bro. Just tell me what you need me to do."

They were all aware that Chloe had been going out of her way to arrange Friday Night Date Nights for her and Adrien. Last weekend she bought movie tickets. This weekend she had tickets to another event, everyone knew it was big by the glint in her eye. They'd know tomorrow what it was as soon as she had selfies to send everyone to gloat about her 'relationship.'

* * *

School went by faster today for Marinette than it had all week. Her sketch book was just about full so she planned to stop by the store to pick up another one as soon as she had a chance. It was only ten minutes until the bell.

"Hey, girl, you want to head down to the cafe after school? There's a new vanilla mint number they advertised that I really want to try."

Marinette though it all over. She had to pick up another sketch book, be home to eat dinner by 6:30, and then patrol at 8:00. "Sure. That would be nice."

"It's a date!" Alya winked. Then she leaned forwards to tap Nino, "Mari's coming."

"Hey, hey," he smiled back at her, "Looking forward to it. Nathanael, Kim, and Alix are coming out, too."

"You didn't tell me it was a group thing, Alya?" Marinette growled through gritted teeth. She saw Adrien's shoulders slump ahead of her and felt bad. "What about Adrien?" she whispered.

Alya smirked. There was a knowing smile to it, "Nino..." she prompted.

"Yo, Adrien, you want to come out for drinks tonight?"

Adrien noticeably perked up, but glanced over at Chloe who was sending him a death glare. He wilted again, "Thanks, man, but I don't think I can." Adrien felt better knowing he had at least got an invite, even if Chloe would freak out if he went. He was really getting sick and tired of Chloe Bourgeois. Adrien was at the point that he decided it wasn't worth it. He'd go to her Friday Night Date Night with her, not to be cruel, but then he was done. He was over it; publicity be damned.

* * *

Marinette and Alya made their way to Le Lait Des Deiux; a cafe that specialized in beverages, but mostly milk based. They had milked coffee, shakes, malts, smoothies, and the like. The best part is they were always coming up with new, interesting flavors. When they sat down at a table Alya picked up her phone.

"Nino said he's on his way."

"Chloe is intolerable," Marinette groaned, "Did you see her give me that napkin and say 'get used to waiting for sloppy seconds?'"

"What the hell?"

"I know," Marinette frowned.

Alya could tell that it had really hurt Marinette's feelings. Normally, Chloe couldn't get under her skin, but apparently that had. "Forget her, girl...and forget HIM. You don't need them. Neither one of them are as awesome as you are."

At that point Nino slipped in next to Alya, "Whoa, you were NOT just ragging on my boy."

"Zip it Nino. She is more awesome than 'your boy' who is obviously suffering from a mental illness...named Chloe."

He grimaced, "Yeah, about that. He's invited me to supervise their 'date' tomorrow."

"WHAT!?!?" Alya and Marinette both shrieked in unison.

"SHHH!" he hissed, "I told him I wouldn't tell anyone. He's afraid Chloe might try something and he's not down with that."

"That little..."

"Well, I agreed, so I won't be able to do anything tomorrow night. That is, if you were planning anything..."

Alya bit her lip guiltily, "About that. Yeah, we had something planned, but it's a girls thing, sweets. No can do."

"All right," he nodded, "I get it. Tomorrow is more likely than not going to be a 'boys thing,' too, so no big."

Up until that point Marinette had been silent, uncomfortably squirming in her seat, just trying to stay out of the conversation. "How about that chemistry homework?"


	4. Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***There is NO rape, but if you have any kind of sensitivities to sex without recollection you might want to avoid this chapter. Equally, unknowingly, drugged, equally consenting, equally forgetting...just a warning.***

Alya arrived at Marinette's on Friday afternoon to help her get ready for her surprise.

"I'm not going," Marinette grumbled dismally.

"Come on, girl, you already agreed. Plus, you really need to get yourself back out there. How are you going to find Mr. Right if you aren't making yourself available?"

The way Alya was talking it sounded like Marinette acted as if she had a boyfriend. She didn't do that, did she? Or did she have such tunnel vision for Adrien that she appeared unavailable? Oh, that's not what she wanted to convey at all. Although, honestly, he was the only one she wanted.

She sighed, "I guess you're right."

"Hell yeah, I'm right. Plus, even if you don't meet someone there might be time for a little fun, right?"

"I guess," Marinette let herself smile, "Transform me, Miss Cesaire."

Alya grinned and pulled out the duffel she'd packed full of accessories. "Okay, so it's a masquerade so we'll need to find you the perfect mask for your outfit. Mom let me borrow some she's worn throughout the years." Marinette rolled her eyes. Of course. Masks. "What color are you wearing?"

"I don't know," Marinette drifted over to her closet and found a baby blue dress with a white floral embroidery, "This one!"

"I can work with that!" Alya exclaimed, "Here, this one!" She held up a white mask that sparkled with crystals that made it appear to be covered in ice. There were a couple short opalescent strands of beads on one side by her eye.

"It's beautiful!" Marinette exclaimed, slipping it over her face, "Perfect!"

"Ah, I almost forgot. This is special nail polish for you."

"Special nail polish?"

"Yeah. It changes colors if someone tries to drug your drink."

"Alya, no one is going to try to drug my drink."

"You never know, girl. You can't be too careful. I'm not taking any chances."

* * *

Once they were dressed they made their way to the Follies Jouette. It was a renovated theater turned night club. There were dozens of people dressed in their best masked designed waltzing into the entrance. Up at the top of the stairs was a bouncer collecting tickets.

"Come on, girl. Now or never," she smirked, slipping a couple tickets into the man's hand, "Let's go!"

She practically dragged a sluggish Marinette through the doors. Alya knew she was having second thoughts, but there was no way in HELL she was going to let her back out. There had been two weeks of solid dreary Marinette and she was getting sick of her being depressed. This was a night of fun and frolic.

"I don't know, Alya."

"And I don't want to hear it. You stay here, where I can find you, while I get some drinks."

"All right."

Alya ran off towards the bar. There was a huge crowd of people vying for a position to better get the overworked bartender's attention. Alya glanced back at Marinette and gave her a little wave. She tried to smile, but it came out more of a grimace. It was going to be a while. Alya decided to pick a place and camp there until the people ahead of her were served. A guy ahead bumped into her and fell to the floor.

"Hey, be careful there," Alya offered a hand.

He chuckled, "Why thanks, dudette!"

Alya froze, "NINO?!"

"Alya?" he looked up at her red hair and laughed, "Well doesn't that just beat all. What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first."

She sighed, "I brought Marinette out here to help her forget about Adrien."

"Fat lot of good that's gonna do."

"Don't tell me."

"He's here."

"I said DON'T tell me, Nino."

"Yeah, well, she looks like she's enjoying herself," he mused and looked her way. She was chatting with a guy in a silver mask.

Alya smirked, "She does, doesn't she?" Alya checked her watch, "Hey, Nino, do you mind if I tell Marinette it'll be a while?"

"No, not at all."

"Okay, save my place."

"Sure thing,"

She ran over to Marinette, who was giggling at something her companion had said. Alya could tell immediately she was enjoying herself. She really didn't want to get in the way of her girl tonight. She needed this. Alya just had to think of a way to let her go for the night, and fast.

"Hey, girl, our drinks are going to be a while. Who is your friend?"

Marinette smiled, "I don't know. Masquerade, remember?"

"I see," Alya winked, "Nice to meet you..."

"Sea Glass," the man said, pointing to his mask.

"Girl, I'll be back," she walked back towards the bar. "NINO! Mari's not nervous around him at all and looks like she's having fun. I don't know what to do. I don't want to be the third wheel that cripples her groove."

"Tell her you met someone and ask if she can get herself home?"

"You. Are. A. Genius." Alya pulled out her phone and zipped Marinette a quick text message.  **I met a guy. Would you hate me if you had to go solo tonight? Can you get home alone?** She glanced over to where Marinette had been standing and she was already gone.

Marinette read her message with a groan. **No, Alya. It's fine. Have fun!**

Alya read her message with a smile, "She's already on the move. Thanks, Nino."

"No problem," he smirked, "I'm kind of solo tonight, too. My bro Adrien invited me to supervise, but I don't even know where he went. Chloe was up here getting drinks and I lost track of her."

"What's she wearing?"

"Decked out, head to toe, in silver. It doesn't even look like her. Adrien has been trying to ditch her for a while now. I might have to distract Chloe at some point to help him slip out," Alya frowned, "It just feels wrong, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know," Alya agreed.

About this time, speak of the devil, a silver nightmare comes stomping up to Nino.

"Where is he, rat?" she seethes, "Where's my boyfriend."

"How should I know? Last thing I knew you were getting drinks."

"I did get him a drink, but then he had to pee. That was like half an hour ago."

"Oops," Nino tried to suppress a chuckle, "I guess you should've kept a better eye on him."

"In the BATHROOM?!" Chloe started, shocked, but then smiled, "Actually...that might have been a good idea."

"He might have gone home."

Chloe huffed, frustrated, "Well, that was a waste."

"Waste of what?" Alya asked.

"Nothing," Chloe's eyes narrowed, "Do I know you?"

"No," Alya drawled, "Not at all."

"Then shut up." Chloe stomped off and shrieked in frustration as she started looking around for Adrien.

* * *

Marinette had found herself a little cubby to hide in. Alya had said she was hanging out with some guy and she'd be on her own for the night. Great, just great. Marinette didn't even want to be here and now she was hanging out on her own. There was a door way to get in, circular, about half the height of a normal doorway, and twice as wide. It opened into a round room with a small table and a circular bench that wrapped around the perimeter. There was a single candle in the middle and royal blue drapes all around the outside with running lights at the top.

A masked figure peeked in and found her, "Hey, sorry to bother you, but care if I join you?" He was dressed in gold and green with a glittering mask outlining his gorgeous green eyes.

"No, no, be my guest," she gestured as she scooted down a little to share.

"What are you doing in here, anyway?" he asked.

"Hiding. What are you doing?"

He flashed a pearly white smile, "Hiding."

"What do you know? Two cowards in a booth," she smirked.

"Ah, but this coward has a beverage!" He holds up his hand, victorious, and then another with a pitcher of what looks like beer. "Which would you like? The mixed drink or the pitcher?"

"A bit of both?" Marinette chuckled.

"SURE! Why not?"

He handed her the mixed drink. She poked and prodded at the ice cube and swirled it around the glass. Then she took the first drink. In two gulps it was half gone. "You're turn." He downed the rest.

"That was way too quick," he sighed.

"Why were you drinking such a girly drink if you like beer?" she asked, confused.

"I didn't get it," he grimaced, "That was a drink from my 'girlfriend,'" he said 'girlfriend' with air quotes.

"Ah, I see. The one you're hiding from?"

He pointed a finger at her and clicked his tongue, "You got it." He glanced at her outfit, "Your dress is gorgeous."

"Thank you!" she smiled, "Your outfit is pretty snazzy, too."

"You like it? I thought it was rather flashy," he smirked, "Where'd you get your dress?"

"I made it."

His jaw dropped, "You. Did. NOT."

"No, I did," she nodded and laughed, "I even embroidered it."

"That's amazing." He crawled across the bench towards her and pulled out his cell phone, "I need a selfie with you. My dad would go nuts over that dress. Plus, my publicist said I need to take lots of pics in case something happens and I need to straighten anything out. I'll have evidence for my story."

"Evidence? Publicist? Who are you?"

"Ah, ah, ah, not telling," he shook his head and waggled his finger, "Well, not if I don't have to." He burst into laughter.

"How much have you had to drink?" she asked. He was acting pretty woozy. Come to think of it, she was feeling kind of funny.

"One drink. I swear," he slurred. He poured them each a beer and handed one to her. "CHEERS!!" He had her hold up her beer, use her fingers to say '#2' and snapped another selfie. "Keeping count," he nodded.

"Good idea," she agreed.

By this point in time, Marinette and her mystery man were gone. She felt really funny; woozy would be the word she'd use.

"Do you feel kinda funny?" he asked. It was like he'd pulled the words right out of her mouth.

"Yeah," she nodded.

He began snickering, "We're light weights."

"Shpeak fur yerseff," she sighed.

"I did," he said. Then he sat there thoughtful, "What's your name?"

"What's your name?"

"You don't need to know."

"Then you don't need to know."

"Would you believe me if I told you I was Chat Noir? Cause I am. I'm Chat Noir."

She began to chuckle, "What a coincidence!? Cause I'm Ladybug." He swung his head to look at her, "Honestly. Serious. I'm Ladybug. I have a little kwami and everything."

"Kwami. Such a funny word," he giggled, "Mine's Plagg. What's yours?"

"Tikki."

"Tikki. She sounds cute," he nodded.

"So what are the odds, huh?" she wobbled. "I have to get home, though, Chat. I'm not feeling too hot. I'm so tired and can't think."

"Me, too. Let me take you home. I'll get the cab."

"No," she shook her head, "I can't let you know where I live. Remember? We still don't know each other's identities."

She snapped a selfie. By this point, she and he had at least a dozen selfies apiece and then additional pictures of the crowd at the club through their hidie-hole.

"Come, My Lady," he offered an arm and she chuckled.

"You really are Chat," she smirked, "Let's go, Chaton."

They crawled out of the room and fell on the floor.

"I have a limo," he whispered, dragging her towards the back of the club, "Out back."

Marinette followed him towards the limo and climbed in.

"Hotel, Gorilla," he shouted.

"Hotel? No. Home."

"I can't, remember? You said no."

"Ah, yeah. I forgot," then she melted into a ball of giggles. They took another selfie. "To the hotel, Gorilla. Wait, why do you call him Gorilla? I have a friend that calls his driver Gorilla. What a strange coincidence."

"Strange," he agreed. He pushed a button on the top of the car and a dark partition raised between the back and the driver. The side windows darkened, too.

"What are you doing?" she giggled as he wrapped an arm around her and buried his face in her neck.

"You're my lady. I wanted to smell you."

Marinette side eyed him, "You want me, don't you?"

"Won't deny it," he smiled.

She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. His eyes closed and when she pulled away he was wearing a dopey, love struck grin on his face.

* * *

Marinette woke up, groggily. It was especially dark so she felt around for her phone. Her hand collided with something warm. Correct that, someone, and their skin.

"OH NO!" She sat up and clasped both of her hands on her face, beginning to hyperventilate. She felt the mask there and remembered the party she and Alya went to. She remembered going off to find a place to hide until it was safe to sneak home, but she couldn't remember much after that. Her mind was drawing a blank. She tried to stifle the nervous sounds trembling from her mouth as she crawled around looking for her phone. That's when she realized SHE was naked. "What the hell happened?"

Marinette wanted to figure it out and quick. There was a handsome guy in a mask. Could that be him? She didn't want to stick around to find out. She wanted to get out of there ASAP! With a quiet 'aha' she grabbed her cell phone, slipped back into her dress, and ran. Her legs barely got her through the lobby; her vision was blurry, her legs were rubbery, and she felt off. She only remembered drinking the ONE drink!

When she made it back to her apartment, she hopped into the shower to investigate herself. After some manual investigation she'd decided that, yes, they had had sex. There was soreness inside that was unfamiliar. Plus, there was goop. It was globular and sticky.

"Oh, God!" she huffed heavily and nervously washed any remnants down the drain.

When she got out of the shower she found her phone and unlocked it. The wallpaper was changed to a selfie of her with this mystery man.

"What the hell?" Her picture folder was full of photos. The most recent one was one of her and this mystery man in, ahem, no doubt to the 'loss of virginity' thing. You couldn't see anything from the waist down, but it was pretty evident what they were doing. They were both smiling at each other and they looked exuberant. Her hand slid down her face. Why did they look SO FREAKING HAPPY!?!?! She wished she could remember. They were both glowing in the photo.

She scanned a few more. Each one a trip backwards through the night. Their clothes on the floor. His face smiling at her lovingly. Him taking his shirt off. Her lying on the bed making a kissing face. Him flexing his muscles at her with a cheesy grin. Their room door. The front of the hotel. Her smiling, wrapped around him, at the club. That's when she realized--her nail polish. It was black on the index finger she'd used to poke the ice cube. Drugged. His drink had been drugged.

She remembered that part. He'd come into her cubbyhole to hide from his date. His date had given him that drink and it was DRUGGED!! She felt bad for him all of a sudden, and sick to her stomach, because his date had inadvertently drugged her, too. It took about two seconds for Marinette to run to the bathroom and throw up the contents of her stomach. There was very little there, but apparently they'd ordered room service. It looked like she'd eaten a plate of fruit. She ran to her room, grabbed her phone, and snapped a picture. Screw publicist; she needed evidence for herself. They were both victims, but someone needed to answer for this.

Marinette closed the folder of pictures and noticed a couple texts from Alya.

**Alya: Hey, girl, how was your night? I didn't see you sneak off at the party, but you were definitely gone.**

**Marinette: Can you come over.**

**Alya: Sure. What's up?**

**Marinette: Come over.**

There was a knock on her door. She opened it to reveal a panting Alya.

"I ran the whole way," Alya gasped, "Didn't. Wait. For. The. Bus." Each word punctuated with gasps. Alya took one look at Marinette and her face dropped, "Oh, honey." Marinette was frowning, her eyes red from crying, and just looked a mess. Her mascara was blurred, her make up smudged, and her hair was mussed. "What happened?"

"I don't know," she looked down at her hand and then held it up to Alya.

"Who is the fucker! I'll tear his throat out!!!" Alya gnashed her teeth and growled.

"No, it wasn't his fault," Marinette held her hands up to calm her friend down, "His date drugged his drink."

"I'm sure that's what he told you."

"No, really, he didn't know. He was nice and shared it with me. He drank it, too."

Alya blinked and shook her head, "What kind of woman would be desperate enough to drug their date?" Immediately, Alya thought of Chloe, but then shook her head. Even Chloe wouldn't be THAT conniving.

"I don't know..." Marinette mumbled dismally, "And we..."

Alya threw her arms around her friend's shoulders as Marinette broke down, "Shhh, it'll be all right. We'll figure this out. Come on, girl, I'm the best investigative reporter you know. There isn't a puzzle I can't solve. I'll help you."

"I don't want anyone to know. Especially not Adrien so you can't tell Nino."

Alya sighed, "All right. I won't. I promise."

"Thank you, Alya."

* * *

Adrien rolled over in the darkness. He kicked his leg off to the side and it felt warm. Why would it be warm? Then he heard a door slam. HIS door slam. He sat bolt upright in bed and glanced around. It was too dark to really see. He turned on the bedside lamp and realized he was in a hotel. He put both of his palms to his eyes and grimaced, "What happened?"

He pulled out his cell phone and glanced at it. His wallpaper had been changed. It was a picture of him hanging on the arms of a girl at the masquerade; not Chloe.

"Oh, shit," he grumbled, covering his mouth with his hand. He was thankful they were wearing masks or the media would have had a HAY day with this.

He opened up his camera and saw pictures there from the night before. The most recent file was a video. He was lying next to a girl in the dark, he couldn't make out anything, but their silhouettes. He hit play.

_Him: Can I keep you?_

_Girl: Forever._

_Him: I want to._

_Girl: I'll let you.  
_

It was followed by a heavy petting make out session, giggling, and her whispering, _"Let's do it again."_   Then he said ' _rawr_ ', turned her under him, and the video ended.

"What the hell?" He glanced around, "PLAGG!!" he exclaimed. He'd only had one or two drinks, but in the video they appeared to be very drunk.

Plagg came out from the drawer next to his bed, "Yes?" The look on his face was one of complete innocence.

"Can you explain to me what happened last night?"

"You don't recall?"

"NO. If I did, I wouldn't be asking you."

"The joke is on you. You went all stallion on some girl and passed out. I stayed out of it."

"Who was she?"

"How should I know?" his kwami smirked. He knew, but he couldn't tell Adrien that. He promised Tikki he wouldn't.

He flipped through the pictures to find any other clue. He had a bunch of pictures of him kissing her, her kissing him, their bodies pressed against each other, one over his back with his bare ass in the air and her legs on either side of his hips, him holding a strawberry out for her to eat, a fruit plate on the service table, the door of the hotel, them in the limo, her running behind him through the back of the club, then her wrapping her arms around him in the club.

He'd only had a couple drinks. There was no other explanation; he'd been drugged.

"CHLOE!!!!" he seethed. He knew she'd drugged his drink right then and there. That was unacceptable.

He stood up, ripping the sheet off of him, and strolling to the shower. Between his legs there was a crusty residue and he groaned. The video was enough to confirm his suspicions and this was only further evidence.

He pulled up his text messages and found thirty-eight texts; twenty-nine were Chloe, six were Nino, and three were Alya. Chloe's were all asking where he was, saying she missed him, scared she couldn't find him, then anger that he might have run off.

**Nino's**

_Hey, dude. Need help?_

_Chloe got you another drink._

_Where are you, Bro? I haven't heard from you. Alya's here. I'm going to hang out with her._

_Are you still here? I tried to find you._

_Let me know if you need me, but I'm heading out. It's getting late. I'm going with Alya._

**Alya's**

_Hey, Nino told me you're here. I'm helping him watch Chloe._

_Where are you anyway?_

_Nino is beside himself. We couldn't find you.I'm taking him home. Text him as soon as you see this._

 

Adrien pulled up a text box.

**Adrien: Nino, I'm alive. Thanks for keeping an eye out. Sorry, I was MIA. I'll see you at school.**

He set his phone down and the whole room began spinning. Adrien dropped to his knees and rocked back and forth, his face in his hands. He couldn't remember anything. This was such a mess. He had to find out who she was and confront Chloe. She couldn't get away with this, but how?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Thanks for reading! I realize this chapter was a whirlwind, but I had a LOT to pack into it. I didn't initially want to do the morning after in the same chapter, but I kind of felt it should all be together.***


	5. Derailed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's plan is a bust. This is her 'day after' where she tries to wrap her head around how her plan has gone to pot so quickly.

Night of the Masquerade:

"Hmm," Chloe perked up on her tip-toes to scan the bar. It was rather congested. "I'm going to go get in line for some drinks," she leered as she let her fingertip draw up Adrien's chest, "What would you like?"

"Surprise me," he grumbled unenthusiastically.

Chloe wandered off through the crowd of people and perched behind a tall man in a bright purple cape. She managed to push in around him and get to the bar, "Over here!" She flagged one of the bartenders down.

"What can I get ya, doll?" the man asked. He was wearing a pair of black trousers, a white best, and a black bow tie with a matching black mask.

"A cosmopolitan and a shirley temple, please!"

* * *

Adrien managed to flag down Nino; who had followed them to the club. Not early enough, however, as Chloe had already managed to try to drag him to one of the 'make out' tables twice. Then she'd been hanging on him like a lecherous leech for the first ten minutes. She was laying it on thick.

"Chloe's getting drinks. I'm going to go get myself a beer cause I'm sure she's going to bring me one of those girly drinks she likes so much."

"Should I distract her?"

"Um..."

They saw Chloe was already heading their way.

"Yeah," Adrien nodded.

"Here's your drink, Adrikens," she cooed.

He took it, "Thanks, Chlo. Hey, look who I ran into!"

"Um," there was a sneer in her voice, "Who?" She really wasn't interested.

"Nino!" Adrien grinned.

Chloe rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Of course you did."

"I've got to go to the bathroom, Chloe. Just hang out with Nino until I get back, okay?"

"Fine," she huffed.

Nino stood next to her awkwardly, "So, how is your night going?"

"Look," she glared, "I don't know WHAT you are doing here, but you need to vamoose. Like now. I'm not having you tagging along. Why are you here?"

"Look, dudette, I was just checking out the scene. No need to get your panties in a twist."

"I'm here with Adrien. I'm not having you meddling."

Chloe stood there shifting from one foot to the other, downing her shirley temple, before huffing, "I'm getting another drink."

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea."

She and Nino both walked back towards the bar and missed Adrien sneaking off with a pitcher of beer in the opposite direction. He was getting the heck out of dodge. This night was over.

* * *

 "Where is he, rat?" she seethes, "Where's my boyfriend."

"How should I know? Last thing I knew you were getting drinks."

"I did get him a drink, but then he had to pee. That was like half an hour ago."

"Oops," Nino tried to suppress a chuckle, "I guess you should've kept a better eye on him."

"In the BATHROOM?!" Chloe started, shocked, but then smiled, "Actually...that might have been a good idea."

"He might have gone home."

Chloe huffed, frustrated, "Well, that was a waste."

"Waste of what?" Alya asked.

"Nothing," Chloe's eyes narrowed, "Do I know you?"

"No," Alya drawled, "Not at all."

"Then shut up." Chloe stomped off and shrieked in frustration as she started looking around for Adrien.

She stomped off towards the exit and pulled out her cell phone, "Well, Lila, I'm not going to need your help tonight after all."

"You didn't give it to him?"

"I did. I just don't know where he went."

"Shit, Chloe! He's going to be out of it and you don't know where he is?"

"I know, all right! It wasn't supposed to go like this. I was just going to get him sleepy, take a few compromising pictures, and use a little blackmail to ensure his loyalty for a while. I didn't expect this to happen."

"Hey, you said you were going to let me spend some time with him," Lila whispered conspiratorially.

"Of course I _said_ that. I lied. I couldn't do this on my own and I couldn't ask Sabrina."

"Bye, Chloe."

Chloe sighed at the phone after the call disconnected, "Slut." She shrugged, rolled her eyes, and made her way to the exit, "Antoine. I need a ride."


	6. Rebellion

The weekend felt like a blur to Marinette. All she really knew was she couldn't seem to focus on anything. Her mom noticed something was off.

"Are you all right, Marinette?"

"Huh? What?"

"I've been calling you for the last five minutes. You haven't been acting yourself. I really think you should eat something."

She sighed heavily, "Maman, I'm not rea--"

"Hungry? You've barely eaten in two days. This is very unlike you. Are you sick? Do we need to go see a doctor? Tell me what is wrong."

"I..." Marinette shook her head. "I'm just cramping, Maman." She lied.

"Ooooh!" Her mother's eyes widened, "Honey, I understand. I didn't realize it was that time already. I'll get you a heat pad and something to drink, okay, honey? Just let me know when you're able to eat. How about a tylenol?"

"I just think I need a nap. I might take you up on the heat pad offer, though," Marinette grimaced. Her abdomen had been feeling a little sore ever since.

"I'll get you some chocolate and croissants, too," she smiled sweetly, "You just sit and rest."

Marinette climbed down the stairs to the living room and curled up on the couch. She didn't feel like she could explain what was going on to her mom. Well, she could, but the idea of it made her feel sick to her stomach. The stress was eating a hole in her. What she really needed was to get to school so she could forget about it all. Alya had been stopping by every chance she got, but she just reminded Marinette of that night. Alya was there. She knew it wasn't her fault, but somehow she felt like if she'd just stayed with her that night this never would have happened. That train of thought made her feel guilty, too. She didn't blame her, but she still felt some resentment.

* * *

Across town, Adrien was having a similar time, but his was in the confines of his dark room, alone. He didn't have anyone checking in on him. Nino didn't know. There wasn't anything he'd want to tell him. This wasn't really something you discuss with people; especially not him. How could he tell anyone about this? He couldn't.

Adrien curled up on his bed and covered his head in his pillow. "I'm so embarrassed, Plagg," he whispered, "I feel cheated...betrayed..." His voice was coming out broken.

"Cheer up, kid. I was there. It wasn't all bad."

"I can't help it," he whined, "I don't remember. You probably think I'm a big baby, don't you?"

THAT was enough of THAT. Plagg snapped, "NO!! That blonde snake is VILE and REPUGNANT!! The repulsive trollop..." Plagg went off raving in a foreign language before appearing in front of Adrien, "Snap out of it, kid. You have a right to feel cheated. You WERE cheated!"

"You're not helping," Adrien sighed, but he did smile.

"Liar," Plagg growled, "You're validated...now come on, cheer up. We can't let her win. Beat her at her own game, the heinous cu--"

"PLAGG!" Adrien agreed, however, and stood up out of bed, "I'm taking a shower and going out."

"YEAH!!!!" Plagg zoomed around the room, "I'm getting out! I need camembert and then we roll." The kwami skidded to a stop on Adrien's desk in front of a little container before disappearing into it. A faint munching sound could be heard from inside.

"I need to clear my head," Adrien closed the door and turned the shower on.

* * *

A knocking on Marinette's trap door alerted her to Alya's presence. They'd been discussing her options since her little predicament and Alya decided she needed to take Plan B just to be safe. When she flew up the stairs she held the baggie in her hand triumphantly.

"I have it," she cheered. "Here." She pushed the bag into Marinette's hand forcefully. "It's been about forty-eight hours so you need to take it ASAP."

"How do I even know if it's necessary," Marinette groaned, reading through the not-so-fun side-effects.

"It's called Plan B because it's the safe bet. You'd rather be safe than sorry, right?"

"I guess," Marinette shrugged, "I doubt I'd get pregnant the first time."

Alya glared at her, "You're looking at a first time baby, Mari. Don't give me that shit."

Marinette had forgotten that Alya was one of those cases, "Oh. Yeah. Sorry." Marinette snuck off to the bathroom to take the pill. The door closed, but she still shouted out to Alya, "This is gonna suck!"

"I know, but you have to do it," Alya called back.

She popped the little pill, a Plan B one-step, out of it's package, and washed it down with a few dixie cups worth of water.

Alya was waiting for her on the chaise. Marinette saw her waiting and crawled up into her arms to cry. She'd done this five times since Friday; a new record. Her wracking sobs would come in waves.

Marinette felt deep down that something was amiss. Sure, it had only been two days; call it gut instinct. It was one of those feelings that crawls up your spine and settles in your mind without consent. This one struck a bunch of different emotions in her; nervousness, worry, dread, trepidation, and even a little bit of giddy excitement. There was no excuse for that last one. Marinette couldn't figure it out herself. It had to be a hormonal response at this age. All that epigenetic stuff they were learning in school and all. At this age, historically, women would have babies. Her rational side was saying _HELL_ _NO,_ but her hormonal side was saying _it would be nice to have a squishy little baby to snuggle._ UGH!!!

"What if it doesn't work?" Marinette whispered.

"Remember, you might not be." And boy did Alya hope she wasn't.

"And what if I was?"

"We'll deal with it," Alya stated matter of factly.

Marinette didn't like the way Alya said that. "Deal with it?"

"Whatever you want, Mari. If you want to keep it, keep it. If you don't..."

"Alya," Marinette looked up at her friend, "I couldn't get rid of it."

"Then we'd be having a baby!" Alya declared, a little loud, and slammed her hand over her mouth, "Sorry." She giggled, "I hope your parents didn't hear that."

Even Marinette managed to smile, "Yeah. I'm scared, Alya."

Alya squeezed her shoulders tighter. It was a pretty sucky situation.

"You know what, girl? We need to find out who it was you were with that night. You know that, right?"

Marinette nodded, "I know. I'm just not ready yet."

"Could we do something then?" Alya began shifting in the chaise to reach behind her. Her bag had been unceremoniously dropped next to it as she waited for Mari to return. There was no doubt in her mind she'd end up crying in her lap so she wanted to have options. She pulled out her tape recorder and pushed 'record.'

"What?"

"I want you to tell me everything you can remember about him. All right? I'll ask questions if you want me to prompt you."

"Oh, okay," Marinette nodded, "Um, it was the night of the Masquerade dance on Friday. He was wearing a gold face mask, a gold suit, and a green tie. His hair was swept back under the band of his mask."

"What color was his hair?"

"Blonde."

"Oh, God, Mari, you SOOO have a type. Were his eyes green?"

Marinette bit her lip, "Yes...?"

Alya hummed, "Mmm-Mmm-MMMM! Girl, you have got to expand your horizons."

"Yeah, well, it's a little late for that."

"What color were his shoes?"

"Black. They were Gabriel brand; brushed leather with a patent leather butterfly."

"Snazzy! High end shoes. Okay, so what about his voice? What was that like?"

"Velvet," Marinette sighed, "He really had a nice voice. It kind of reminded me of..."

"Of what?"

"Nevermind." Marinette looked away nervously. The whole idea of that was absurd. Of course it couldn't have been Adrien. He'd been on a date with Chloe that night.

"Did you remember anything else?"

"Everything got fuzzy after our first drink. We talked, a lot, I have some photos and everything, but I just can't remember what we talked about."

Alya sighed, "That must be frustrating."

Marinette's face flushed with irritation, "You have NO idea! I'm so pissed at his date for drugging his drink. Now I'M going to have to pay for his poor choice in women."

"Girl, go easy there--you were one of his choices of women."

Marinette gulped and just barely managed not to back-hand Alya; partially, because she was right, and, no, it was because she was right. Darn it.

* * *

Adrien climbed out of his shower, dripping wet, and strolled over to his closet; towels be damned. He didn't care so much to dry off as he was more of a drip-dry kind of guy, personally. He pulled out some clothes, once sufficiently air dried he lathered himself head to toe in body lotion, and slipped them on.

"Plagg, claws out," he exclaimed. With zero fanfare, he threw open the window and vaulted into the night air.

It was dusk, the sun setting on the horizon, and Chat hadn't felt this lonely in a long time. He couldn't really talk to anyone about his predicament without looking like a whining wuss. He feared kids at school would catch wind and say something about 'what's wrong with getting laid' or something of that nonsense. Adrien wasn't that kind of guy. It was really messing with his head. He hated being so sensitive because he really did feel like a big baby.

"Fancy meeting you here, Chaton," a warm voice called from behind him.

"My lady!" his face broke into his trademark grin, effectively hiding the conflict that had been there moments before.

"Are we patrolling early?"

"You tell me," he winked. She was here just as early. Why was she here this early?

Ladybug sighed, "I had some things I needed to think through."

That was an understatement, but Marinette didn't feel it necessarily appropriate to elaborate. That's what she had Alya for, after all.

"Ah, birds of a feather," he smiled.

"You're allergic to feathers," she grumbled in an unamused monotone.

He laughed, "Ha! Yeah, I am. You remembered that?" He felt flattered his lady remembered his feather allergy. It was sweet.

"Yes," she smiled, "You're one of my two favorite boys and you're both allergic to feathers. It's an odd allergy."

His eyes widened, "You have ANOTHER favorite boy?" He clasped his hand to his chest in mock affront, "You wound me!" Secretly, he was ecstatic that he was a favorite. Yes, those words left her lips.

"Don't be so melodramatic, Chat," she playfully punched his shoulder, "Neither of you are competing. I'm not planning on starting anything with anyone any time soon." Especially not now.

Chat smirked, "So I'm still in the running for the future." He winked and she rolled her eyes. That giddy feeling was still there overpowering any of his melancholy from earlier. Oh, how he loved to be in the presence of his lady. She made everything better.

"Of course, that's what you'd take away from that."

"What can I say? I'm an optimist!" _True._

Ladybug giggled, "You know what, Chat? You're an amazing friend. You have to know that, right? Mr. Unlucky is an optimist. I hope some of that rubs off on me."

Chat lowered his voice and leveled her a seductive look, "That can be arranged."

She frowned, but then lightly slapped him in the shoulder, less energy behind it, "That was a good one."

He could only figure that it was the wrong time for such a joke by how flat she sounded; him, too, Ladybug. As soon as it was out he regretted it with a bile at the back of his throat. "Well," he clipped, "Let's head out. Paris isn't going to protect itself."

"Race you back!" she shouted as she dove off the roof.

"You're on, Shugga-Bugga."


	7. Wrecked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is DONE. That's about as nice a thing as I can put here. He's done.
> 
> Marinette is still traumatized.

Her alarm went off and Marinette didn't want to get out of bed. Eventually, she threw her leg over and flopped out. Her head was pounding. It had been two days of very little self-care; about half a gallon of water and a croissant.

"Bread and water is a diet for prisoners," her mother observed as she walked through the kitchen to grab a glass of water and another croissant. "Are you sure you're all right? You need some fiber and protein in your diet."

"I'll be fine, maman," she said, "Love you. I'm heading out."

Marinette was early for school. When she got there, Nino was sitting on the stairs. She'd contemplated avoiding him, but he'd know something was up and she was not in the mood to talk about it.

"Morning, Dudette!!" Nino greeted, "I heard you were at the masquerade Friday."

Oh shit. Marinette kept her face neutral. _Don't react._ "Yeah."

"I was there!" he exclaimed, "With my man Adrien...and Chloe."

"Ah," Marinette nodded. She didn't even care that Adrien had gone to the masquerade with Chloe at this point.

"Are you all right, Marinette?"

"Fine," she nodded, pressing her lips into a line.

He reached out to touch her shoulder and she flinched. He pulled his hand back with an apology, "Did something happen?"

"No," she lied, "I'm just tired."

"If you say so," he decided to go back to his music. That's when Alya showed up.

"Mari? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay home for a few days."

"I can't, Alya. My mom has been doggedly persistent."

Alya sat down and threw an arm over Marinette's shoulders and sighed, "Well, you're a pretty brave chica."

That's when Adrien's car pulled up. When the door opened, Marinette could see his face. He wasn't his usual self today, either. Maybe his masquerade night hadn't gone as planned, either. As soon as he saw his friends sitting on the steps his demeanor changed instantly. It was as if someone had flipped a switch. Marinette was a little unnerved by the change. His smile didn't reach his eyes, but that was the only thing that was amiss.

"Morning, bud," Nino greeted.

"Good morning!" Adrien smiled, "Shall we?" He gestured towards the doors.

They all walked up to the classroom. As they made it to the stairs that go up to the second level they heard a shriek, "ADRIKINS!!"

Marinette saw Adrien's entire body tense and there was a distinct growling sound. It was very unlike the Adrien she knew. Nino glanced over at him, too.

"Dude?"

"Keep walking," he whispered. They practically bolted to the classroom and Adrien took his seat. The teacher was already sitting at her desk so Adrien let out a sigh.

Marinette slipped into her seat just as Chloe walked in and straight up to Adrien's desk.

"Adrikins!" she exclaimed, sidling alongside him with a pout, "I missed you at the party."

Adrien turned away from Chloe like she was repulsive. Nino glared up at Chloe just in support of Adrien's desire not to talk to her.

She walked to the front of the desk and put her face up to his, "I had plans..."

"I BET you did," Adrien growled through his teeth, laced with venom.

Chloe snapped back and her eyes widened, "Oh. We'll talk about it later. I have another idea for this Friday I want to discuss.."

Adrien whipped around and turned on her, "NO, Chloe, we won't talk about it later. We're through. I'm not doing anything with you. Don't talk to me. You are persona non grata, got that? Forget you met me, Chloe."

Chloe was going to speak, but it just came out as a spluttering jumble of garbled nonsense. She burst into tears and ran out of the class room.

Nino was just staring at Adrien with a gaping gob, "DUDE!!!"

Marinette was watching him, alarmed at his sudden outburst. This was very unlike Adrien. In fact, it was like he'd just snapped. What was that? What had Chloe done?

In the silence, there was the sound of clapping. Everyone turned around to see Lila, sitting in her desk, slow clapping, "Bravo." Then she winked at Adrien, "I completely understand. She was over the line."

Kim glanced over at Lila, "Do you know what that was all about?"

"I do," Lila smirked and glanced over at Adrien, "I'd have done the same."

Adrien's face turned red and he buried his face in his arms.

"Shut up, Lila, can't you see you're upsetting him?" Marinette was shocked that came out of her mouth. Her hands snapped up to cover it.

"Oh, get over yourself. She's a bitch and you know it."

"Takes one to know one," Alya agreed.

"Look, Cesaire, you want the story? Meet me at lunch and we'll discuss the dirty details, shall we?"

At that, Adrien launched himself out of his seat and left. The starting bell hadn't even rung yet, but he was gone. Marinette glanced to Alya and Nino. Nino decided he'd go after him.

"Bro!!" he saidwhen he caught up, "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Nino."

"You lashing out at Chloe and getting freaked out by Lila's threats? I call bullshit."

"What do you want me to say? Chloe drugged my drink and ruined my life? Is that what you want to hear?"

"Wait, what?"

"Drop it."

Nino stopped walking after him and tried to process what he'd just said. How could drugging his drink ruin his life? Suddenly, Nino was appalled. He chased after him, "Hey, did something happen?"

"I'm not talking about this, Nino."

"Did she take advantage of you or something?"

"Bye, Nino." Adrien ran down the front steps and his driver, whom he'd texted as he was walking, was already there.

Marinette picked up Adrien's bag and put it by her own. She'd take it by his house after school was over.

Nino returned to the classroom ashen faced.

"What's wrong, Nino?" Alya whispered, leaning as close to her boyfriend as she could.

"Adrien," he said, "Something is up. I want to strangle Chloe myself."

Alya glanced over at Marinette, "What did she do?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Nino seethed.

Alya had never seen Nino so angry before. Marinette was trying not to get involved. She had enough to worry about on her own without worrying about Adrien. Although, she couldn't NOT be worried. He looked extremely distraught.

Alya sent a text to Nino.

**Alya: You and me. Lunchtime. Talk.**

**Nino: Agreed.**

Something wasn't adding up and Alya was going to find out.

* * *

At lunch, Marinette sat off by herself. Nino and Alya were whispering conspiratorially. Lila had come up to Alya to talk at some point, but Marinette had no idea what they were saying.

Truthfully, Marinette didn't want to know. All she knew was she was going to regret coming to school today.

Back in the classroom, Alya and Nino looked as irritated, or more so, than before. Nino kept glancing down at his phone and Alya huffed in annoyance every time she heard Lila laugh.

"Adrien had something bad happen on Friday, too," Alya finally whispered next to Marinette.

"He did?"

"Yeah. Turns out Chloe drugged his drink," Alya grumbled.

Marinette looked down at her fingers, now devoid of the nail polish, and sighed, "She shouldn't have done that."

"I know!" Alya exclaimed a little too loudly before dropping her voice, "I know. I mean, what is wrong with people? I hoped that nail polish would have helped."

"It would have, if I was smart about it," Marinette's voice wavered and a tear dripped down her cheek. "He didn't suspect someone had drugged his drink so I just assumed..."

"Oh, girl," Alya threw an arm around her shoulder, "I'll come over tonight."

"Okay," Marinette nodded and wiped the tear away. "It's just not fair."

"You and Adrien should really talk about it," Alya whispered, "Since he might understand a little of what you're going through."

Marinette stiffened.

Alya huffed, "I don't mean details." Then she sighed, "Okay, girl, forget I said anything. I know how you can't talk to him, regularly. It was a dumb idea."

Marinette bit her lip, "You might be right, though."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, "I think it would be a good idea for him to talk to someone that understands."

"You're amazing, girl," Alya's eyes were glowing with pride. "I mean it."

"Thanks."

* * *

 

 Marinette flopped onto her bed when she got home and pulled out her phone. She hoped Adrien's number hadn't changed as she pulled up a text window.

**Marinette: Hey. How are you doing?**

Marinette didn't get a response so she set her phone down. She had gone to the bathroom to pull her hair out of her pigtails. Alya should be stopping by in a few hours and she wanted to be ready for bed. Her pajamas were set out and ready. Thinking about it, Marinette went ahead and slipped into them before sitting at her desk to work on homework. That's when her phone chimed.

**Adrien: I've been better.**

**Marinette: I heard a rumor at school. Do you want to talk about it?**

**Adrien: Not really.**

**Marinette: I'm here if you want to talk.**

**Adrien: Thanks, Marinette. I appreciate it.**

**Adrien: Wait, what rumors?**

**Marinette: That Chloe drugged your drink on your date.**

There was a long pause before she received another text.

**Adrien: From who?**

**Marinette: Lila.**

**Adrien: How would Lila know?**

**Marinette: So it's true? I don't know, but she did.**

She bit her lip and wondered if she should divulge her side of things, too, or just focus on him. Eventually, it was decided that he'd be more likely to open up to her if he knew she understood his situation and could empathize.

**Marinette: It happened to me this weekend, too.  
**

**Adrien: What?**

She'd opened up that can of worms, but now her hands were shaking and she couldn't catch her breath. Nope. She wasn't ready and now she felt awful for suggesting that she might be.

**Marinette: You know what? Sorry to bring it up. When you're ready and I'm ready we'll talk. I'm not really ready, either. Not like this.**

**Adrien: Are you okay?**

**Marinette: No. But I will be. I think. You?**

**Adrien: No. Not even close. I don't know if I will be, either, you know? I don't really know.**

**Marinette: You're not alone, Adrien. You can talk to me. If you need someone to talk to I'm here.**

**Adrien: You don't know how much that means to me, Mari. I'm lucky to have a friend like you.**

**Marinette: Don't mention it. See you tomorrow. Night!**

**Adrien: See you tomorrow. Good night.**

*******

Adrien flipped back and dropped his phone to his chest. He'd been sitting on his bed, crying, for the last half hour. His hair was still a mess from where he'd been tugging at it and Plagg was nestled against his neck.

"Silly humans. You're all so fragile," his tummy rumbled and he whined, "And so easily satiated. I need CHEESE!!"

"Top drawer, Plagg," Adrien mumbled.

After talking to Marinette, Adrien felt the first genuine smile he'd had in days grace his face. He had someone ready to be there for him and that person was Marinette. Of the three friends he hung out with, Marinette was the one he'd LEAST expected to reach out to him. Now, lying on his bed, he wouldn't want it any other way. If he wanted anyone in his corner it would be the quiet girl who sat behind him in class. She regularly shot down his assumptions and surprised him when he least expected it.

"Plagg, we're going out tonight."

Plagg practically cheered, "I'm ready!!"

"Not right now," he sighed, "Later. I want to visit Marinette."

"Marinette? That dark haired girl that sits behind you in class? She's cute!"

"Yeah, she is," Adrien nodded in agreement.

"Soft, too," Plagg mumbled around his cheese.

Adrien shot him a curious look. Soft? How would Plagg know she was soft? What a weird statement. "Are you feeling all right?"

"YUP! Purrleasantly purrfect!" he purred.

"O--kaaay," he drawled, "Just making sure."

* * *

Alya stopped by Marinette's house and found her in a miserable state. Her chaise had gotten more use in the past few days than it normally got in a week. They'd found a good position to sit in to where Marinette felt comforted and Alya didn't feel too claustrophobic. Marinette could tell Alya was feeling emotionally drained from all her crying, but there wasn't much she could do to help it. It was a sucky situation all around, but Alya was trying to support her as much as she could.

"Hey, maybe we could go out," she suggested.

"No, Alya. I don't feel like it. You can, though, if you want to," Marinette suggested. She knew Alya was itching to use some of her free time for a more entertaining means. There was only so much depression she could take.

"You sure?"

Marinette nodded, "I think you could use it. I'm doing all right today." It was true that Marinette hadn't cried as much today. Her conversation with Adrien had given her some hope that there would be someone else she could talk to and that hope was enough to stave off the all encompassing darkness that kept trying to creep over her.

Alya squealed and kissed the top of her head, "I'll be back tomorrow, okay?" She pulled out her phone to text Nino, "I'm so glad you're feeling better, girl. You were starting to scare me."

Marinette nodded and plastered the best smile she could that would be the most believable, "Go have fun with Nino."

"I will," she smirked, "He's been pretty lonely, too, what with Adrien being out of sorts."

"Yeah, that sucks."

Alya squeezed her shoulders and pushed herself to stand, "What are the odds, right? You two are so unlucky."

"Yeah," she nodded, "Although, I bet I got the short end of that stick." She saw Alya pinch her lips together to prevent the insensitive joke from slipping out of her mouth at that. She did giggle to herself, though, and Marinette was thankful she kept her mouth shut. "I had to take that stinking morning after pill yesterday."

"How are you feeling?"

"So far, I haven't noticed anything different. It says my period should be about the same as usual."

"Yeah," Alya nodded, "I read that, too. Well, I'm heading out. Nino's going to meet me for a movie tonight."

"Have fun!" Marinette called after her.

"Love ya, girl. I'll see you tomorrow," and she was gone.

Marinette groaned. She was still feeling pretty lonely and couldn't get her mind to stop flashing through images from that night. She sighed and moved to her desk to work on her homework. Surely, homework would take her mind off of it...and it did.

* * *

Marinette was burying her head in her pillow and tucking her comforter around her when there was a thump. Her eyes shot open as she glanced up at the trap door above her. There was a tapping sound a moment later.

Marinette opened the latch and peeked out, "Chat!? What are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit my purrincess?"

She glanced around, "On a school night?" He bit his lip expectantly in response, completely unashamed. "Fine, come in. Come on. You're going to freeze out there. It's getting cold out."

Chat broke into a grin and hopped down onto the end of her bed. "Thank you, princess."

"Trying again--what are you doing here?"

"A little birdie told me you weren't feeling well."

"That's an understatement," she said, curling under her blanket.

"What's going on?"

"You don't want to know," she whispered.

"Are you going to be all right?" He sat at the edge of her bed and leaned over to look at her.

"I don't know,' she shrugged, "I really don't. Something happened this weekend. I met a guy and things...I didn't realize it, but the drink I had that night had been laced with something."

Chat's eyes flashed with a silent rage and his face turned red, "Did he hurt you?"

"NO!" she exclaimed, "He didn't. From what I can tell he didn't. I don't really remember."

"Who was he?"

"I don't know," a tear dripped down her cheek and Chat wiped it away.

Now he wasn't feeling so sorry for himself. Although, now he was intrigued. Maybe Marinette and he should talk after all. He could help her find her mystery man and she could help him find his mystery girl. He didn't have any other options at this point.

"I, uh, had a similar weekend, if it makes you feel better," he whispered.

She sniffed and looked up at him, "Really? That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Yeah," he nodded, "I did. I don't remember much. I have photos on my phone."

Marinette nodded and pulled out her phone, "Me, too. That's all I had from my night out." She opened her camera app and slid it over to Chat.

Chat looked at the first photo and his heart dropped into his stomach and crashed through into his feet. The photo on Marinette's phone was the same picture he had on his own. There he was, with his arms wrapped around the mystery girl, sitting in a booth at the masquerade party on Friday night. Suddenly, he was sick to his stomach and angry. Each picture was just like his own except she had some that his didn't and it filled in some of the blanks, but not much. All he knew now was who the girl was and it didn't sit any better with him.

He tried his best to act non-nonchalant, "Yeah, that's not very helpful, is it?" It was exceedingly helpful for him. They _needed_ to talk **now!**

Marinette shrugged, "I just can't seem to remember and it's so frustrating." She grabbed two fistfuls of her hair and pulled until she whined painfully.

Chat grabbed her hands and held them away from her hair, "Don't. Don't do that. You shouldn't hurt yourself, princess." _No more than you are hurting already._

"He was so sweet, though, Chat," she frowned, "He didn't deserve that. What girlfriend drugs their own boyfriend's drink? What should have been a great evening out ended horribly for both of us, because I'm sure he can't remember, either, and it isn't fair."

"No, it isn't," he practically spat. Then he leaned down and gave Marinette a heartfelt hug.

She was surprised by the action from Chat, but appreciated it, "Thanks for letting me vent, Chat."

"No, problem. Sleep well." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and let himself out. On the balcony, he promptly dropped to his knees and began to hyperventilate. He didn't even feel the cold as his body was already numb. His crying was muffled as he bit into his gloved hand. He hadn't given himself the chance to assess what had happened and let it sink in. Instead, with this revelation it just hit him like a ton of bricks. Once he was able to regain his bearings he vaulted back to the confines of his room to unravel.


	8. Guts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There will be a time skip and Adrien still doesn't have the courage to talk to Marinette.

Marinette only remembered she had Adrien's bag stowed in her locker the next day. "Crap," she groaned, "I forgot all about that." She pulled it out and walked to class. That day Adrien didn't return to school. She wondered what was up so she texted him.

**Marinette: Are you coming to school today?**

**Adrien: I'm not feeling well.**

**Marinette: I have your school bag.**

It was the perfect opportunity to talk to Marinette.

**Adrien: could you could drop it off?**

**Marinette: Sure. :) I hope you feel better.**

**Adrien: Thanks, Marinette.**

**Adrien: Hey, I hope you are doing better, too.**

**Marinette: I think I am. Thank you.**

* * *

 

Adrien laid back on his bed, lamenting his life, and glaring over at Plagg, "You knew," he sighed.

"Yes," Plagg nodded guiltily.

"And you didn't tell me."

"Look, bud, I have reasons, all right?"

"What reasons would those be?"

"Oh, I don't know, the fact you told her you were Chat Noir!" Plagg shouted and glared at him.

Adrien's face contorted in shock, "NO I DIDN'T! Why would I tell her that?"

"Something about being used to wearing a mask, blah, blah, blah, I'm Chat Noir."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah, kid. Language! If you tell her it's you then she might be able to figure it out!" Plagg dove into Adrien's desk and found the little stash of camembert that Adrien kept on hand for him.

Adrien ran his hands over his face. "She said she didn't remember that night."

Plagg reappeared with his mouth stuffed full of cheese, "I woofin' wischt it."

"Pardon?"

Gulp, "I wouldn't risk it."

"This is bad. This is bad. This is BAD!"

"I know kid. You can't tell her," he sighed. Plagg really did feel sorry for Adrien's predicament, and the fact he was alone in it, but he didn't know what Tikki would suggest so he was just going with what he'd assume she would do.

"This sucks."

"You could always talk to her as Chat Noir," Plagg suggested with a shrugg.

Adrien grinned, "You're right! I could. I could tell her it was me and then it would be fine."

"Sure," Plagg nodded, "She'd probably hate your guts and tell Ladybug, but you know..." Plagg was just being an ass now. He knew Ladybug was Marinette, but Adrien didn't know that. Plagg didn't know if Adrien remembered that part of the night, either, so he was just covering his own ass at this point.

"I hate my life."

"Hold up, kid. Don't say that. Do it. She might be cool with it."

Adrien groaned.  Nope. He wasn't going to tell her. He'd just have to take his secret to his grave. In his cowardice, he had Nathalie meet Marinette to retrieve his bag.

* * *

Marinette had been in a rut for a few weeks now. Her silver lining a couple weeks ago was that Adrien's epic break up with Chloe. The second week Alya took her out shopping for fabric which worked like a charm. This week she was looking for something to look forward to.

No such luck.

Marinette was sitting on her toilet, silently praying to anything and everything that might exist, that she wasn't pregnant. She was a week late for her period and the little pee stick was balanced precariously on the edge of the porcelain sink; about as stable as her emotions. Her entire future was supported by the fulcrum of that tiny, potentially crippling, little stick.

"One minute," she sighed and reached for it. Her eyes were closed as she brought it in front of her face. In all her years, she'd never envisioned herself taking a pregnancy test in secret, crouched in her bathroom, alone, praying that she wasn't. It was always the scenario where she was married, they'd been trying, and they were both waiting with baited breath for the time to count down so they could gleefully shriek and cry tears of happiness. Nope, this one minute was the most painful minute of her life. The anticipation was painful.

Her eyes peeked open and she gasped when the little blue plus sign appeared next to the blue line. Positive. "Oh, God," she whispered to her palm as it pressed against her mouth to stifle her sobs. "Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god..." her mantra was quietly dripping down her face.

She took out her phone, thinking about that night when mystery man suggested she always document things to protect herself. Now she'd picked up the habit of just always taking pictures of big things happening in her life like this. "Whoever you are, Mystery Man, you're going to be a daddy." More sobs wracked her as she tried to regain her composure.

Marinette retreated to her bed. She'd hoped her parents didn't hear her. There might have been a lie earlier when she told them she was going to sleep so she could sneak out and buy a pregnancy test.

Chat had visited her a few times the past week and she could really use some conversation tonight. She sure as heck wasn't going to confide in Alya with something of this magnitude. Not yet. Alya was just getting hopeful that Mari was getting better. This would devastate her. Chat would be able to keep her secret. Just as if he'd read her mind, there was a knock on her trap door.

"It's open," she sniffed.

Chat dropped down with a smile on his face. It quickly fell as he took in her disheveled state, "What's wrong, princess?"

He quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders, as he'd taken to do as of late, their comfort with each other transcending most personal boundaries.

"I really need to find him, Chat." The topic of their conversations had been mostly about her finding her mystery man. Chat appeased her often, then tried to tell her he didn't matter and she should try to focus on herself, but now she was sure he did matter regardless of what Chat thought .

Chat frowned, "Why?"

"I have something important I need to tell him."

"What is it you have to tell him?"

She sighed heavily and a tear dripped down her face, landing on his leather glove that was holding the hands in her lap, "That he's going to be a daddy."

Chat's heart stopped. His mind stopped. The world stopped. His arm flopped back to the bed and Marinette glanced up at him, concerned.

"Chat?" She crawled up into his lap and tried to get him to look at her, "Are you all right?"

He didn't know how long he sat there stupefied, but it was long enough to thoroughly freak Marinette out. When he finally snapped out of it, she was sitting in his lap and his face was in her hands.

"Thank, God, Chat, you scared me!!" her hands dropped into her lap and she focused on the bell at his throat, "I tell you _I'm_ pregnant and _you_ freak out. What is with you, kitty cat?"

"I'm just, wow," he gulped and looked down at her abdomen absentmindedly, "There's really a baby in there?" His eyes opened wide with wonder as he tried to imagine his tiny baby growing inside of her.

She glanced down and placed her hands on her stomach, "Apparently. I mean, I guess. I just took the test tonight. You're the first person I've told." Her eyes drooped.

Adrien's stomach did a flip. He was the first? Even before Alya? He felt honored and touched. Of course, she didn't have to worry because he was Chat Noir. Marinette was under the assumption they didn't know each other or the same people when he was unmasked. He treasured her precious trust more than she could ever know. It made him ache in her presence, daily, and appreciated her shy side from a distance. If only she knew it was him she was talking to so effortlessly when she spoke to Chat.

"I'll have to make a doctors appointment soon or something. Alya's going to be shocked. She gave me plan B, which I took, but it didn't work. I'm sure she'll love it when I throw her words back in her face." Marinette really didn't want to have to do that. In fact, lately Alya had been looking especially restless with the responsibility of taking care of Marinette. She'd decided she was going to go to the doctor alone.

"What did she say?"

"'We're having a baby!' Which I think jinxed me," she frowned. "I don't know what to do."

"Are you going to keep it?" He didn't know if he wanted to know the answer. His heart couldn't bear it if she said no.

"Of course I am!" she exclaimed, eyes wide, "I might be terrified, but I owe it to this baby. This isn't that poor thing's fault." There was no reason not to. She could find a way to afford it and her parents would help when she was in school.

Adrien couldn't contain his relief. A tear dripped down Chat's face and dripped onto Marinette's hand.

"Are you crying, Chat?" She glanced up at him and threw her arms around him in a hug, "You're such a softie. You're the best cat...my favorite cat."

"I'm...overwhelmed," his voice cracked as he let out a sob. "You're pregnant," he whispered reverently. _We're having a baby._

She pulled back to look at him, "Yeah, I am."

He wrapped his arms around her middle and struggled to keep his voice even, "Congratulations, mama."

"Thanks, Chat," she whispered in his ear, "I'm scared."

"Don't be. You'll have help. I promise."

She leaned back, "Are you offering."

He gave her his signature wink, "Whenever I can."

And because of that, Marinette smiled.

* * *

Life was just a sick, twisted, cosmic joke on Adrien. He was sure of it. There was no other way to explain how the coincidences had placed him and Marinette together that night. With all things considered, it was impossible! What else did fate want to throw at him? Next he knew she'd be telling him she was Ladybug. He laughed at how ridiculous he sounded, blowing everything out of proportion, but at this point he felt he had the privilege allow for some far-fetched exaggeration. Overreacting wasn't something he was prone to, but tonight all bets were off.

"Plagg, you and I need to have a talk," he finally muttered. His eyes had been steadily dripping since he'd face planted in his bed. Only a few minutes ago he'd finally rolled over to glare menacingly at his ceiling as if it had offended him in some way for being in front of his face. "You understand if I don't exactly trust you right now..."

Plagg grumbled something to himself that sounded a lot like 'you have to be kidding me,' but then said, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid."

Adrien groaned in exasperation, an angry sigh tearing through his mouth, "You didn't TELL me, Plagg!! She's _pregnant!_ You do realize that it's mine, right?"

"I'm not stupid," Plagg rolled his eyes, "Of course I know that."

"Wait," Adrien rolled over to glare at him, "How do you know for sure it's mine?"

Plagg glanced nervously from the wall to the window and back again, "Eehh, uhhh, it doesn't matter." He couldn't tell him Tikki and he discussed such things; like their concern for STDs, but they assured each other they both were virgins. Oh, no, his head would explode. Not going to tell him that.

"Plagg," he shook his head and stared at him, "She doesn't know I'm Chat Noir."

Plagg wasn't sure where he was going with this or how he'd come to that conclusion. "Oh? What makes you so sure?"

"She told me she was pregnant tonight. If she knew I was Chat Noir she'd have told me it was mine."

The little cat rolled around on the bed, pondering the intricacies of it, and sighed, "I suppose."

"So I can tell her it was me!" he exclaimed. Adrien's face was alight.

"You want to tell her it was you? Just like that? How did you find out she was your mystery girl? She'd know you were Chat Noir because he was the one she showed the pictures to, genius."

Adrien opened his mouth to speak and then snapped it shut. He blew an angry huff through his nose and grumbled, "Fuck."

"Language," Plagg sang, "Fudge-fudge-fudgity-fudge. You're thoroughly, irrevocably fudged. YuuuP!"

"Shut up, Plagg."

Adrien was determined to be there for Marinette as Adrien. Even if she didn't know now, it didn't mean she wouldn't ever know. One of these days she'd have to find out. He couldn't tell her, obviously, but she had to find out. There were too many ways this could go irrevocably wrong and it terrified him. What if she found out he knew and didn't tell her? Could he explain why? Would she freak out? Would it cause her to avoid him all together? To cut him out of her life? Potentially, his child's life? He couldn't survive that.

Instead, he just buried his head in his pillow and screamed. A gutteral, blood curdling, heart wrenching scream ripped through him.


	9. Same Page

It was just after 7:00 when she swung in front of the Agreste estate to deliver Adrien's school bag. She dropped her transformation under his bedroom window. No sooner had she turned to walk to the front she heard a gut wrenching scream that made her blood run cold.

"Adrien!!" she exclaimed, "Tikki, spots on." Precautions be damned! She landed in front of his window and slammed her body forcefully against it, "Adrien?"

Adrien didn't move. He didn't have the energy in him. Not even for Ladybug. Not anymore. His face stayed firmly planted in his pillow to hide his tear streaked cheeks.

She ran over to his bed and sat next to him, "What's wrong?" He didn't move. "Talk to me, please!" she pleaded.

Adrien had never heard Ladybug so distressed and he hazarded a peak up at her. He didn't want her to see him like this; weak, sobbing, broken. "I can't."

She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm so sorry you're hurting," her voice cracked.  _Get it together. You're Ladybug._ She knew why he was so upset, mostly, but even she hadn't been this distressed. It was in that moment Marinette realized just how alone Adrien Agreste really is. His room was cavernous, but very empty.

"Can you go?" he asked.

"Would that make you happy?" She watched him for a moment silently; waiting and hoping that he would change his mind.

He whipped around to bury his head in her lap and wrapped his arms around her waist as if she were an anchor in the turbulent ocean, "No," he cried. "Don't. I don't know what to do."

She ran her fingers tentatively through his hair. Normally, this would melt her into a puddle and a gibbering mess, but today it just made her feel determined to help him like Alya had been there to help her. They were both going through something similar. "Just be, Adrien. You don't have to do anything right now. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere for now unless you ask it of me."

"Never," he whined.

Ladybug just shushed him while he broke down. How could she have misjudged this situation? Potentially, Adrien had an experience every bit as bad as her own. She just didn't understand his circumstance. "You are such a strong person, Adrien. You shouldn't have to be. Let others help you. No one should have to go through something as traumatic as, I can only assume, you have had to endure, alone." He was so much stronger than her. She knew he hadn't been confiding in Nino because Nino had said as much. She knew he was facing his turmoil alone. He had handled himself so much better than she would have done.

Suddenly, the sensible Marinette side of her took over and she lifted him so she could rearrange their position on his bed. She laid down on his pillow and pulled him down alongside her so she could wrap her arms protectively around him properly; a relaxed embrace. She figured this way if he falls asleep he'll already be comfortable when she has to sneak home.

When his crying had slowed she whispered, "So now do you want to try talking about it?"

Adrien was confused and conflicted. He was in Ladybug's arms, where he'd always wanted to be, only this wasn't ideally how he'd want to do it. Why was she being so nice to him, anyway? Did he really look that desperate? He could only assume she'd heard his tortured scream and come running. He always knew she was the more compassionate of the two of them, but this really took the cake. His heart was lighter, but only partly. He felt extremely guilty now on top of his messed situation with Marinette.

"No," he sobbed, "but I should." He laughed, but she could tell it was in self-preservation. "Normally I'd be ecstatic to have Ladybug in my room. I'm not making a very good impression, am I?"

"I won't judge you, Adrien. If anything, it takes a great deal of courage to allow yourself to be vulnerable in the presence of others. I consider this a radiant first impression," she frowned, "I just wish it were under better circumstances."

"Me, too," he sniffled and looked up at her from where his head lay cradled in the nook of her elbow. Ladybug's breath caught as she took in his puffy blood shot eyes, red lacy patched cheeks, runny nose, pulled hair, and tear streaked face. She resisted the urge to tuck him close to her again. He looked so tortured and distraught. Then, there was a small smile that made her heart race, as his beautiful green eyes met hers, "That means everything to me right now, Ladybug." 

Ladybug could feel her heart buzzing with an electric pulse racing through it. He was going to be all right. She'd been afraid at first. What made it even better was she had put that impossible smile on his face. Her. This magnificent, angelic boy was on the verge of breaking and he was letting her help him hold the pieces together. Adrien wasn't perfect, she'd been wrong all that time keeping him on a pedestal. She felt sickened and guilty for objectifying him off of his persona, just like everyone else. Not anymore. He was imperfectly beautiful and immensely more precious to her as of tonight. How could he not be? Starting tomorrow, he was no longer untouchable. Marinette would make an effort to be a better friend to Adrien because he deserved no less. This boy needed her love and she was going to give it to him. It might not be romance and flowers, but that wasn't what he needed. He needed someone to care and she did. Who is to say it couldn't be more someday? They really could help each other out.

"You are going to be okay," she whispered, "I'm here for you. I'll stop by again tomorrow, if you like."

"You would?" he glances up at her.

"If it would please you, then yes," she smiled softly at him, reassuringly.

"Why?"

The question takes her off guard. This guy couldn't fathom a reason someone would want to come make sure he was all right. Was he for real? Maybe it was because she was a superhero. That was ridiculous. Why? Because you're astoundingly magnificent, a lovely person inside even more so than out; which, in your case, is pretty hard to do.

"Because I'd like to be your friend," she ruffles his hair, "goofy boy." Marinette, even as Ladybug, would want nothing more.

"You'd like to be friends with me?" His hero worship was evident.

"Yes. I wonder if you understand me. Yes."

"I'm honored," his voice breaks with the emotion behind it and he clears his throat, "I'm just not used to having someone be there for me." _Except for you. It is always you._ "It just feels good."

"You have friends, don't you?" she asks.

He grimaces and squirms a little in her arms, "I'm afraid to talk to them about this."

"Oh? Do you want to tell me why?" As Marinette it would be much easier to talk to him if she knew his reservations.

"I'm embarrassed," his face flushes even more pink through the blotchiness. She gives him a nod of encouragement and gestures for him to continue. "I got drugged by my fake girlfriend." He cringes in on himself.

"Fake girlfriend? I thought she was your real girlfriend."

He scoffed, "No. HELL no! It was a publicity stunt arranged by my father. I guess I'm too lax in my love life and people were getting the wrong idea." He groaned, "Look how that turned out, huh?" He laughed humorlessly and dropped his forehead to her collarbone. Although, honestly, he thought it could be much worse. Marinette was an amazingly sweet girl. This just wasn't anything he'd have ever anticipated. "You don't want to hear this."

"You were drugged? That's awful," she whispered, "Do you want to talk about that?"

He sighs, "Not really."

"Then what happened after?"

"I, uh," he began to fidget and pulled away, "Let me just show you." He pulled out his cell phone, "I met this girl..." Adrien didn't want to give out Marinette's name for privacy reasons. It really wasn't his secret to tell. He'd stick to mystery girl for now, "An AMAZING girl," he reiterated. Though he loved Ladybug, he wanted to make things right with Marinette, to try and see if they could make something work under the circumstances. Just that thought alone made his heart ache. Ladybug looked at his phone and gasped. "I know, right? Stunningly beautiful."

Marinette's entire world stuttered to a stop as the room spun and she broke out in a sweat. Was it hot in here? For some reason the air felt thick and it was hard to breathe. "Uh-huh," she said absentmindedly as she scanned through the photographs. Adrien was talking, but for some reason she just couldn't hear anything other than the muffled sounds like she was underwater. Each photo she scanned through were those of her and the mystery boy from that night. _Adrien._ Her heart was pounding and there was nothing she could do to slow it down or get it back into a steady rhythm. He was Adrien.

"Ladybug?"

"Huh?" she jerked her head away from the phone as she was called.

"That's her," he said, "my mystery girl."

"She's cute," she mumbled robotically. It felt odd to call herself cute, of all things.

"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing her shift in mood.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. I just have a lot going on, too. Go on."

"Well, she and I kind of...here," he pulls up the video, presses it into her hand. Quickly, he rolls away from her to hide his face while she watches the intimate video of he and, who now he knows was, Marinette. Ladybug might be his best friend, but even this was a little too far out of his comfort zone to share without feeling humiliated. He hadn't watched it since he'd found out the girl was Marinette. Now, thinking back to the video, he wasn't sure he wanted to be here. It was deeply personal and now he felt like he was lying in front of Ladybug in his underwear.

Marinette pushes play. There are two silhouetted figures lying on a bed. They're locked in an intimate embrace. The boy leans up onto his elbow and looks over at the girl. The phone is in his hand at the time and pointed towards the two figures.

_Him: Can I keep you?_

Definitely Adrien's voice, she notices immediately.

_Girl: Forever._

Ladybug--'Oh, shit, that's my voice.' Up until this point the shock hadn't quite sunk in. Their tryst was intangible; she was detached from it. The video was like giving a thought a body and now she was able to see it.

_Him: I want to._

She was dying. Her pulse was gushing through her ears at a high velocity and soon she'd be hemorrhaging out her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. This was how her life was going to end.

_Girl: I'll let you.  
_

She heard Adrien's sharp intake of breath as he gasped. He was overwhelmed by it all and Marinette was feeling the exact same way. Except, her reaction to 'I'll let you' was much more of an inward cheer that sounded a lot like Alya saying 'go get him, girl!' Oy.

It was all followed by a heavy petting make out session, giggling, and her whispering, _"Let's do it again."_   Then he said ' _rawr_ ', turned her under him. The video ended with a thump onto the bedside table, but not before Marinette heard the tell-tale thumps of a headboard against a wall and the creaking of a bed. Her cheeks blushed and heat pooled in her abdomen. The same abdomen where she coincidentally was carrying the evidence of those actions. Though it was said to be the size of a sesame seed, it felt like a lead bullet sitting there.

"Well," he whispered, still looking away, "What do you think?"

"I think she loves you," she smiled sadly and hugged him closer to her. "You're an amazing person, Adrien." Of course loved him; especially more so now. They'd have to have a talk and soon. She was pregnant with Adrien's baby. That thought itself short circuited her mind as she whimpered.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to go home. It's getting late. Are you going to be okay?," she asked untangling herself and trying as hard as she could to keep her tears at bay.

"I think so. I'm better now," he nodded.

Her emotions were quickly rising to the surface and she was afraid she'd hyperventilate and hurt herself on the way home. "It's late. I have school tomorrow."

"Ladybug?" he called after her as she got ready to jump out of his window, "Thank you, for talking to me. It means a lot."

"Same to you. Have a good night, Adrien," she gave a small wave and dove out into the dark.

Adrien sat on the edge of his bed where his hands began to shake. He placed them on his face and blew air forcefully through them. He was left all alone to have everything come crashing back to him. He crawled up to his pillow and held it to his chest as he cried himself to sleep.

* * *

 Marinette made it to the next block over before she collapsed with her back against a chimney to deteriorate. Her sobs were gasps as they rushed over her in waves. She had always wanted to do this, but do it right; Adrien would notice her, fall deeply in love with her, they'd date, he'd propose, they'd get married, and have babies. That's how this was supposed to work. This was NOT what she was expecting. Instead, now she was sure she could never tell him she was pregnant. He'd be disgusted that it was her and she'd never be able to survive his rejection. She was keeping the baby with or without him.

Her virginity had been stripped away from her by CHLOE!!! Taken by Adrien, as she'd hoped, but still, In that moment her blood boiled. She normally considered herself a level headed, forgiving person, but right now she just wanted to snatch Chloe bald and make her feel as hopeless and miserable as she felt now. How could she do such a thing to Adrien?! He was always so sweet with her. He was the only person who didn't mind letting her hang around. That explains why he was so upset and snapped at her earlier.

Her transformation dropped and Tikki popped out to hug Marinette's cheek, "Oh, honey, it'll be okay."

"But it's NOT OKAY!!!" she shouted at a high pitch, "I'm NOT going to be okay, Tikki. Do you have any idea what it is like to find out that your dream has been swept out from under your feet? But, ironically, you got everything you ever wanted, with the person you wanted it with, except neither one of you can fucking remember!?!?! No? I didn't think so." She'd had _sex_ with Adrien Agreste. The evidence was obvious, nestled between her hips where he had obviously been once before, only it was going to keep growing until she couldn't hide it anymore.

"Language," Tikki whispered sweetly, "I'm sorry sweetie. No, I don't know what that is like."

"Adrien is going to hate me," she whispered, "This would ruin his life."

"Aren't you being a little melodramatic?" Tikki sighed. They were both being a bit ridiculous. Her charges seemed to get more and more sensitive as time progressed. "There are a lot worse things in this world than children, Marinette. He might even be happy. You don't know until you tell him."

"And that! How the hell am I supposed to tell him something like this? Say, 'Hey, Adrien. Remember how you were drugged? Yeah, well, I'm the one you fucked. Now I'm knocked up with your kid.' Guarantee his reaction is not going to be 'thanks for telling me, let's get together.'" She huffed angrily through her nose.

Tikki sighed. Marinette was dropping F-bombs. She was beyond Tikki's help at this point. She'd have to wait until she calmed down some to talk to her. After all, Adrien was still struggling with his being drugged, let alone the rest of this mess.

"I'm so alone, Tikki," Marinette cried, "I can't tell my parents. I really don't want to tell Alya, yet. I need to go to the doctor, but I don't want to do it alone. I'm scared."

"Why don't you ask Adrien to go with you?"

"Why would I do that? He'll think I'm crazy."

"You are kind of crazy around him," Tikki stated gently, "The now and again when you turn into a spluttering nutcase."

"You've made your point," she glared, "I'm still not asking him. We don't really know each other that well."

"It's his baby, too, sweetie," Tikki cooed.

"I know," she lamented, "But he wouldn't know that."

"It's best to have him there from the beginning for when he does find out, though, don't you think? Especially if he finds out you knew and went without him anyway. It would break his heart."

"I couldn't," she sighed sadly.

Tikki smiled, "I'm still proud of you, Marinette."

"Really?" it came out awed, "Why?"

"This has all been a lot to take in, but even though you've been through a lot, and you were still there for Adrien. You supported him when he needed you. That's a pretty special thing to do for a friend."

"I guess you're right, Tikki," she sniffled, "I just wish there was a way to go back and change it so we never split that god-damned drink."

* * *

Chloe was logged into her messenger app chatting with Lila. (CB and LR)

CB: You are a conniving, backstabbing bitch.

LR: Oh, please, I didn't do anything.

CB: You are the one who told me to drug his drink.

LR: You didn't have to do it. I didn't make you.

CB: It was your idea! You were the one who gave me the medication.

LR: I didn't make you put it in their drink. By the way, I never got my end of the bargain.

CB: I wasn't going to let you have Adrien for the night. That's sick, Lila.

LR: Sick as drugging his drink?

CB: You were just as guilty.

LR: Can't prove it. Besides, who would they believe? I haven't done anything to anyone. You are hated by dang near every person I know.

CB: You're going down if I do, Rossi.

LR: Yeah, yeah. I'm shaking in my boots.

CB: I'm going to tell them.

LR: Hold up there, psycho. If you confess they'll nail you to the wall.

CB: Yeah, but you'll get nailed to the wall, too.

LR: You can't prove anything.

CB: What about this conversation?

LR: Circumstantial at best. I haven't admitted to anything.

CB: You haven't denied anything!

LR: You're proving my point, Chlo.

CB: Don't call me Chlo, you bitch.

LR: You're adorable.

CB: I'll find a way to fix this so that you go down, you scheming whore.

LR: I'm always scheming. Oh, and I'll still convince Adrien to let me ride him. It's just a matter of time. I'll be sure to take pics and send them to you.

CB: He wouldn't fall for any of your tricks.

LR: We'll see. You be careful, though, with your confessions. I'd hate for things to end badly.

Chloe slammed her cell phone down on the desk with a huff. The pill bottle in her hand was written for a Celine Thomas. "Who the hell is Celine Thomas?" She was sure going to find out. She wondered how Lila even got a hold of this stuff. It was midazolam--can cause amnesia. No wonder Adrien and his mystery girl hadn't come forward yet. They probably didn't remember.

Chloe decided then and there to go through her night and document all of her records. With a quick upload to her computer, all her and Lila's correspondence and call logs were archived, plus, her GPS data. She could prove she met Lila at the Cafe down on Dupere at 3:15. The place had cameras and everything. She'd have to talk her daddy into getting her a copy of that footage. "You're going down, Lila," she whispered, "You just don't know it yet."

* * *

Adrien dragged himself to school without glancing at anyone as he climbed the stairs. Today was the first day since he'd started public school that Chloe didn't attack him as he tried to go to class. In fact, he glanced around and didn't see her anywhere. Although, Lila was sitting on the top step and hadn't taken her eyes off of him. She stood up and began walking his way when he caught sight of Marinette.

"Mari!" he called, running over to her with a wave. Lila scowled and deviated off course.

"M-M-Mari?" she stammered in shock. Since when did Adrien call her Mari?

"Short for Marinette," he smiled, "How are you feeling?"

For a second the world went out of focus, but then she remembered they'd been texting and he knew they'd both been in similar situations last weekend. It was only natural to show concern for a friend, right? _Friend_ , "I'm all right. I'm a little tired...I'm a mess. A wreck. I'm shutting up."

He chuckled at her flustered attempt to express herself, "Me, too. Hey, could we talk later? Maybe over lunch?"

 _YES!!!_ "Sure. Yeah. That like. I'd like some...that. To eat." What was wrong with her? Marinette had been waiting for Adrien to ask her out to lunch for years. Plus, she had an ulterior motivation to agree; not that she needed the boost.

Adrien wrapped one arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently, "You're the best," before hurrying off ahead, to catch up with Nino, leaving a completely blathering, stumbling, mush of a Marinette in his wake. He'd wrapped his arm around her, Marinette--not Ladybug. Sure, they'd done the horizontal tango, technically, but this time she felt the touch and remembered it. She wasn't likely to ever forget it. Adrien had hugged her in a round about way, kind of, a side hug. It took all her efforts not to reach a hand down to her abdomen, where his baby was gently cradled within her, and he had been weeks prior.

The next thing she remembered was Alya waving a hand in front of her face and closing her mouth, "Hey, girl, I saw that side hug." Marinette just nodded and mumbled 'uh-huh.' A warm, glowing smile replaced her shock. Alya snickered, "He broke you. Damn, Agreste!" She muttered, "Come on," before dragging Marinette up to their classroom by her arm.

Suddenly, Marinette had a bit more bounce to her step. For once that day, Adrien had given her, thanks to her unbelievable crush, the greatest gift of distraction. She could forget for one moment how conflicted her life was and for that she was grateful.


	10. Distance

There was something freeing in figuring out a plan of action and sticking with it. Marinette got to do it often enough as Ladybug, but this was the first time she'd been gutsy enough to attempt something quite like this. It involved Adrien, and gosh if that didn't make her nervous.

Tikki had convinced her to make an appointment at a hospital across the river a good distance away. It was well within limits of the metro, to ride a bus or the train, but also far enough that if Adrien were to 'accidentally' catch wind of her doctor's visit he might feel gentlemanly and ask to drive her there. Tikki assured her he'd totally go for it.

_"Are you sure, Tikki? It's not like we know each other that well or anything. Why would he offer to drive me there? Plus, he probably wouldn't even care about going to the doctor with me. What will he do when he finds out I'm pregnant? What will he think? I'm unwed. I'm a teenager. I obviously had unprotected sex so I'm not the smartest person in the world. God, he's going to think so little of me after this. He'll never make the connection."_

_"Honey, slow down," Tikki cooed, "It'll be fine. He doesn't have to go in with you. He might want to. I bet Adrien will be more understanding than you think. You know how he's been lately."_

_Marinette did know how he'd been. He'd been kind and compassionate more so than she'd have ever expected. There was a humbleness to him that Marinette had never seen before; vulnerabilities and flaws. These traits made him even more endearing to her, if that was possible._

_"All right. Let's go to school."_

"Hey, girl, what are you thinking about? You've been staring at that poster for the last ten minutes. It's not going to change. What is so fascinating about 'There is no substitute for hard work?' Honestly, it's about as cliche a motivation as any. It's been there all year."

Marinette finally shook her head to clear it, "Huh?"

Adrien was listening intently to the girls situated behind him. Ever since he'd figured out that Marinette was pregnant he'd been fixated on everything she did; from when she arrived at school, what she ate at lunch, whether or not she was getting sick, and how often she went to the bathroom. He had a heart attack when she showed up late that morning even though it was nothing out of the ordinary. He was like a hair trigger ready to panic at the drop of a hat.

"Nice retort," Alya smirked, "Where were you?"

"I just have a lot on my mind. I feel like I'm coming down with something." Marinette had a large box of tissues on her desk, half full, and a growing mound of white wads. "It's just a head cold, I'm sure, but I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow at 4:00." She'd purposely scheduled it to coincide with Alya's job shadowing at the local newspaper.

"That sucks," Alya frowned, "I would go with you, but I work."

"It's okay," Marinette shrugged, "It's across the river so I'll be heading out directly after school."

At this point, Adrien turns in his seat and Marinette squeaks.

"That's pretty far, isn't it?"

She worried her lower lip. This was exactly the window of opportunity Tikki was talking about. Adrien, you're such a gentleman. "Uh, yeah. I guess."

"I could give you a ride if you want." Adrien maintained nonchalance. He didn't want her to panic and flee.

Her lips quirked into a shy smile, "If it isn't too much trouble--"

"No, no trouble," he blurted.

"I'd appreciate that."

His heart felt like it would beat out of his chest. He knew she wasn't going to the doctor for a head cold just as well as he knew his eyes were green and his hair was golden.

"Well, you got your foot in the door kid. What you do on this side of it is up to you," Plagg whispered.

"Stop quoting movies," he hissed. It was very true, however.

Plagg was an avid fan of 80s rom-coms. He'd deny it if anyone were to inquire, but Adrien knew. His netflix history was full of them and he couldn't deny that he was also a bit of a fan. How apropos to quote 'Secret of My Success.'

Marinette slid down into her seat and squealed internally with glee. Tikki would be pleased to know she was right. He offered to drive her hook, line, and sinker. It was all going well until it dawned on her that he was going to find out she was pregnant. Her biggest fear was him judging her. Well, second biggest. Biggest fear was he'd ask who the father was and she'd blurt out something stupid like 'you' and then want to evaporate into oblivion.

"You're going to ride alone in a car with Adrien?" Alya glanced over at her, "Girl, why aren't you freaking out?"

"I am," she nodded, eyes wide, "It's just a lot to take in."

Alya chuckled, "You ought to work on your emotions, girlie. Tomorrow isn't that far away so you'd better prepare for that trip."

Marinette groaned and dropped her forehead to the desktop, "It's going to be so awkward."

"You'll be okay. I have faith in you. Go get him, tiger."

* * *

Marinette sat at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing the pad of her thumb against her top row of teeth nervously. There was suddenly a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, "ARGH!"

"Whoa, Mari, calm down. It's me, Adrien. Are you ready to go?"

"Whew. Adrien. Y-yeah, I'm ready," she nodded. Her hand was still clasped to her chest as she tried to regain composure.

"Where are we going?"

"The Hospitaux de Paris."

Adrien smiled and looked up to the Gorilla, "Hospitaux de Paris, please."

They drove off in silence. Marinette picked at her cuticles and sighed, "Thanks again, Adrien, for driving me. I could have taken the bus."

"No, I wanted to. I know we don't really spend much time together and I'd like to get to know you better," he admitted.

"Oh," she blushed, "Y-yeah, it would be n-nice to get to know you better, t-too." There was a pause before she whispered, "I have a confession to make. You'll find out sooner or later, I guess. I'm not going to the doctor for a cold."

Adrien attempted to be surprised and nodded for her to continue.

"Adrien, I'm pregnant." It was quiet in the car. Adrien didn't know what to do or say to that. He hadn't really anticipated her coming out and telling him like that, so openly. He glanced over to look at her and saw a silent tear roll down her cheek.

That wouldn't do. Feeling compelled, Adrien scooted over to put his arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side. She nestled her face into his collar bone and sniffed quietly. "Hey, it'll be okay," he soothed. He absentmindedly massaged her upper arm.

"I'm sure you think I'm a...a..." she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Never," he whispered, "Whatever you were going to say. Everyone makes mistakes, Mari."

At that, she wrapped her arms around his waist and breathed deeply for the first time in what felt like weeks. His unique Adrien smell calmed her. It was the opposite of what he usually did to her. Only, now, she took sanctuary in his arms and it was like everything was working out the way fate had intended. Even if it was a tad bit delusional, Marinette was grateful for the moment of reprieve.

"We're here," Adrien whispered.

 _Has it already been half an hour?_ "Wow, that was quick."

"Do you want me to come in with you or stay out here?"

She fidgeted, "You can come in with me if you want to. They're going to do a sonogram and stuff."

He grinned, "I would like that. I've never seen a sonogram before."

"Me, neither, come to think of it," she blushed, "I'm sort of new at this whole baby thing."

Adrien hopped out of the car and held out his hand to help her out, "After you."

* * *

Chloe cleared her throat as she entered her father's office, "Daddy?"

"Yes, sugar bumpkins," he smiled, "What do you need?"

"I have to talk to you about something serious."

The mayor very rarely saw his daughter so morose and it broke his heart. "Come tell me all about it." He pulled a chair up next to his desk and told his secretary to hold all calls and appointments.

"I did something I regret," she sniffed. The word 'regret' left a bitter taste on her tongue. It was much like admitting she was wrong. There were no good feelings associated with it and she just felt awful.

"What did you do, honey?"

"I'm afraid I'll get in trouble," she pouted. Her bottom lick pooched out and a tear rolled down her cheek.

A tear is serious. It was a genuine tear. Mayor Bourgeois was nervous, "Sweetie." He leaned over his desk and turned off his recording device. It recorded everything and he didn't want it to record this. It wasn't his first rodeo, after all, and he had a bad feeling about this, "Go on."

"You know how Adrien and I were dating? Well, I got tickets to that masquerade a few weeks ago," she sniffed. The mayor nodded for her to continue, "He doesn't like me, like I want him to, daddy. So I thought I'd make him think that we...did stuff. Then he'd feel guilty about it and might be willing to give us a chance, you know?"

He nodded. It was a tactic he'd used himself and sighed. This is what he had taught her and now it was coming back to bite him. "Continue."

"There's a girl at school who said she'd help if I let her 'have him,' afterwards." The Mayor's eyes widened in shock. "I wasn't going to let her, daddy! She's repulsive. I didn't even know what she meant! I just thought she was going to take embarrassing pictures or something, but I wasn't going to let her do it. I agreed because I wanted the help. She brought something...midiprozam or something. It would make him forget everything."

"Midazolam?" the Mayor corrected with a heavy sigh. Yes, he knew that one well.

"I just wanted some pictures, daddy," she cried, "I didn't want him to leave me. I didn't know what she wanted to do until after and it made me sick to my stomach."

"Do you have any of those pills left?" he asked quietly.

She pulled out her purse and retrieved the bottle, "Here." Her face scrunched up in confusion, "Although, I don't understand how she got it. It was made out to a Celine Thomas, but her name is Lila Rossi. I just don't know what to do or how to prove it."

The Mayor paled as he took the bottle.

"I need help, daddy. Lila threatened me," she pulled out her cell phone and pulled up the message app, "Look."

He scanned down the page and nodded grimly, "Don't worry, sweetykins. I'll help you."

"I can't make it right, though, daddy," she wept, "I hurt him. He'll never forgive me. Adrien won't even talk to me anymore."

He wrapped his arms around his sobbing daughter, "You'll get through this. We'll figure something out." He was the Mayor of Paris. These people didn't know who they were messing with.

* * *

This wait was the longest she'd ever had in her life. The waiting room was practically empty and yet she was still waiting. Marinette sat in a chair, filling out a form, and her chair shook. It wasn't here doing, either. Adrien was sitting next to her and his leg was jumping constantly. She glanced over to see that his finger was in his mouth; much like a child would suck their thumb. He was gnawing on it.

"You okay?" she asked with a chuckle.

His leg stilled and his finger reappeared with a pop, "Yeah, fine. I'm fine." His eyes flitted around the room and the more baby related paraphernalia he saw the more shallow his breathing became.

"You don't look fine."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "I've just never been around baby stuff before."

"Yeah," she nodded, "I get that. If it makes you nervous you can stay here."

"NO!" he blurted, "No, no. I'd like to go with you. I want to be supportive. It's just really a lot to take in."

"Oh, and Adrien, you can't tell Alya about this," her voice dropped to a whisper, but it was menacingly serious.

"ALYA DOESN'T KNOW!!" he exclaimed and slammed a hand to his forehead, "Oh, God, I'm a dead man. She's going to find out. She'll know I knew."

"Shhh," she hissed, "I just haven't told her yet. I have only told one other person."

"Who?" his eyes widened and he pretended to be in shock, but he knew who she'd told.

"I don't want to tell you," she bit her lip shyly, "A good friend, that's who."

"Why did you tell me?" he whispered, suddenly feeling vulnerable for voicing such a thing.

She sighed, "Because..." He waited with baited breath. "...you...you..."

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" the nurse called from the doorway, "The doctor will see you now."

She was going to tell him 'you came with me to the hospital,' but Adrien assumed she was going to tell him the truth; ever the optimist. He'd wait until she was ready, but he still felt a sense of pride that they were here to face this together, regardless.

* * *

Mayor Bourgeois called in Officer Raincomprix for an 'off the books' meeting. Since Sabrina was implicated in some of the conversations in Chloe's phone messenger app he thought there might be some pull to get him to help out with this situation. Sabrina had been aware of Chloe's intentions and was willing to cover for Chloe; offered to help drag an unconscious Adrien out of the masquerade party if needed. She was going to hide Adrien at her house, after, until he regained sobriety so Lila wouldn't find him.

"That's why I called you in, Roger," the Mayor explained with a grim expression. He'd just finished catching Officer Raincomprix up to date.

Roger stared ahead blankly, "This is a fine mess."

"I completely agree," the Mayor nodded, "I don't even know who this Celine Thomas is. I need you to call this pharmacy and get all the information you can on this woman. If she gave these meds to Lila Rossi then she is as guilty, or more so, considering she is an adult. She should know better than to haphazardly give access to her prescription meds to a minor."

"A mentally unstable one, at that," Roger nodded in agreement. His fingers twitched of their own accord towards his pocket where a cell phone had been recording the interaction. He was going to have to delete the entirety of it thanks to his daughter's involvement. It made him feel sickened to be involved, but it was for Sabrina. He was proud of her willing to help out her friend, but disappointed she was willing to go along with something so disturbing.

"I'd like all the information you can find by the end of business tomorrow. You understand this has to be done on the down-low, right? Or the high-side if you'd like," the Mayor waved his hand.

"Yes, sir," Officer Raincomprix agreed, "I'll see what I can find. We don't have enough to clear Sabrina or Chloe and even less to pin anything on Rossi."

"I completely agree. This won't be easy, but when have we ever failed. The truth is right in front of us. All we need now is the evidence."

* * *

"You're going to do WHAT?!" Marinette's eyes widened.

"It is too early to do an abdominal scan so we're going to have to use this wand to do an internal scan," the doctor explained, "I'll be back once you are ready."

Marinette paled as she looked over at Adrien. Sure, they'd done the dance, but neither of them could remember the steps. This was inching into the more revealing territory. She could see him fidgeting and looking like he was going to let himself out. Before he had a chance to speak she took a deep breath, "You can stay. You've never seen a sonogram. You can stay up near my head and it'll be fine."

Adrien nodded, but he looked rather wobbly on his feet, "Sure. Yeah. Okay."

"You might need to turn while I strip from the waist down, though," she smirked at how he hadn't taken his glazed over gaze off of her.

"Adrien?"

He shook his head to clear it and glanced up to make eye contact, "Yes, I'm sorry." Adrien walked over to the window and absently ran his fingers along the window sill. There was a light coating of dust that he drew a little paw print. It was a kitty paw, too, since he didn't add any claw marks. Retractable claws would be nice in the suit. He giggled to himself thinking about asking Plagg later if that was possible.

There was the sound of paper crumpling behind him and he wondered if Marinette was done. A few well practiced breaths prepped him to turn to face her because just the knowledge that she was naked under that pitiful excuse for a blanket, made out of thin tissue paper, would unravel his resolve within seconds if he didn't have a handle on his emotions. In only a few more minutes he was going to see his baby. His breath caught at the idea and it felt like his throat was the Sahara.

"You can turn around, Adrien," she whispered, "I'm relatively decent."

He slowly spun to face her, eyes down cast, as he made his way to the chair by the table. He pulled it up to her head and sat with his hand clutched between his knees.

She giggled, "Are you nervous, Adrien?" Marinette couldn't think of a time she'd ever seen him this jittery. He was always calm and collected, confident.

"I'm a little nervous. I've never been to one of these before and you're..." he blushed and looked out the window, ever the gentleman.

"I'm covered." Her nerves were through the roof. Anxiety was a feeling she was familiar with. It was probably what led her to toss inhibitions to the wind and reach down to grab his hand, "Thanks for coming with me, Adrien."

He jerked his head up towards her. Her blue eyes were glistening like twinkling stars and he smiled, "Thank you for letting me." She quirked her head in confusion and he spluttered, "Be here to support you, I mean."

She squeezed his hand, "Don't mention it."


	11. Parents

"All right," the doctor smiled, "Ready for this sonogram?"

She saw him grab the wand and gulped, "I-I guess." Marinette realized it had been the first time she'd stuttered in a long time. Sometime during her ride with Adrien it had disappeared. She couldn't really focus on how comfortable she'd become around him, though, as the doctor placed his hands on her hips. It made her nervous to have someone touching her like this. Her usual gynecologist was a woman.

"I'll need you to bring your bottom down to the end of the table and rest your heels in the stirrups."

Marinette blushed as she realized the position she was in while Adrien sat next to her. He was watching a man stick something inside of her and Marinette didn't know how to feel about that, either. This was not what she'd imagined as their first memorable penetration together. Instead, she just tried to relax.

Next to her, Adrien wasn't even aware of what the doctor was doing. Instead, he was in lala land. He glanced over to Marinette who looked nervous and uncomfortable. Without a second's hesitation, he reached out to hold her hand. It was a grip where her forearm rested on his own and her hand was clasped in both of his. Their breathing was unsteady.

Marinette noticed Adrien was breathing hard, he was shaking, his hands were clammy, and his face devoid of color. The palor wasn't the only thing noticeable on his face, but the sweat that was unusual for him condensing around his brows. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

He gulped, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," she whispered. Marinette wasn't nervous, but only slightly embarrassed. She was getting seriously concerned for him. "You look like you're going to pass out or-or puke. You can step out if you want t--"

"NO," he said forcefully, "No. I want to stay." He cleared his throat, "I'm just--I've never seen one of these before."

Marinette nodded, "All right."

The doctor pulled up the screen and it sparked to life. "Aha!" he chuckled, "Look at that. Well, there we have it. There's your baby. Good news. I thought I was seeing two there for a second, but it just appears to be one little one...right there."

"A baby!?!?!" Adrien exclaimed. He looked down at tiny Marinette before everything went dark.

* * *

"--drien! Adrien! Wake up." 

Adrien opened his eyes to find he was lying in what looked to be a hospital. Marinette was standing next to him, running her hand through his hair, and squeezing his hand while wearing a concerned frown. "Are you OK?"

"What happened?" he felt embarrassed all of a sudden as he sat up.

"Well, we found out I'm having a baby, as we had discussed the purpose of this visit, and you passed out," she bit her lip to keep from grinning. It was kind of funny now that she knew he was okay, and it did make the visit a memorable one.

"I can't believe this, Marinette," he put his face into his hands, "This is just...a _baby_."

"Let's get out of here before you think too much about it and pass out again. I'll show you the pictures in the car."

After staring at the sonogram pictures Adrien got the perfect idea to get her to realize he was the one at that party. "Could I take some pictures of those?"

"Sure," she nodded. Marinette leaned over and was peeking at his phone. If he had a picture that she could catch a glimpse of she could just tell him. As if she were willing it to happen, his unlock screen came to life and she gasped exaggeratedly, then looked at Adrien, "You have my picture on your phone."

He glanced over nervously, "Uh, yeah?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "And that's you?"

He gulped, "Yes."

"You and I need to talk, huh?" She pulled out her phone and thrust the lock screen picture at him.

"Marinette, I'm...so sorry." She could see him look out the window, a horribly guilty look on his face. He couldn't tell her _why_ he felt guilty, obviously, seeing as he'd been Chat Noir at the time he found out and never told her.

"Don't apologize," she growled, "It wasn't your fault." It was Chloe's.

"What do you remember from that night?" He asked shyly.

"Honestly? I remember sneaking off to a secluded corner, splitting a drink, and waking up in a strange hotel room."

"Same here," he frowned, "You were my first, you know, and then this..."

"You were mine, too, by the way."

"What people get pregnant their first time?" he whispered in disbelief.

"It just wasn't supposed to happen like this," she nodded, "It's not like it's our fault." She grimaced, "And I don't think I want to discuss it right now. I just want to think of happier things like--"

"A baby," he muttered with a sigh and covered his face with his hands, "What do you want to do, Mari?" They hadn't really had this conversation as themselves yet. Plans could have changed. He was in for a penny, in for a pound.

She shrugged, "I don't know. You're taking this really well, actually." Her breath came out in a rush, "I know I'm keeping the baby. Of that much I'm certain," she nodded energetically, "I decided that if this baby stuck around through this all I'd give it a chance, you know? What do you want to do?"

"Honestly?" he asked. She nodded, "I'd like you to let me try to be a part of it."

"In what way, Adrien?" Dare she be hopeful?

Her blue eyes were staring intently into his and Adrien gulped. A miraculous was a big secret to keep. It was a big responsibility, but he didn't want it to get in the way of having a semi-normal life. He wanted to try being a father to this baby.

"Adrien?" she prompted again. He'd been sitting in thought for a moment, "You can be the doting uncle if you want." Her shoulders shrugged noncommittally and it was enough to shock Adrien into speech. It was sweet of her to offer him an out, but he wasn't having any of that talk.

"NO! I don't want to be the uncle," he erupted, "I want to be the father. I _am_ the father! Do you want to know what I want?"

Marinette nodded, "You have to tell me Adrien. I don't know what to do or how to make it happen if you don't tell me."

He nodded and licked his lips nervously, "I want to be there...for all of it. I want to be there to cheer on the sidelines at little league, be the obnoxiously loud parent after a stuffy recital, chase them down for diaper changes because they wriggle free every chance they get. I want to give baths, tuck them in at night, and read them stories. I want to kiss the boo-boos and tell them monsters aren't real even though I know I'm wrong, but I don't want them to be scared. I want to tell them daddy will protect them from what lurks in the dark. I want to go shopping for all the baby things I think we're going to need and then end up not using half of it. I want to be there when they first see the ocean and their eyes sparkle with the immensity of it. I want to do it all."

Marinette nodded quietly, "You want to adopt this baby then." Her stomach dropped into her feet. Adrien wanted their baby.

His eyes widened in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Well, it sounds like _you_ want to do it all...and...and"

Just then the air was sucked right out of his chest. His heart constricted uncomfortably at the crestfallen expression as Marinette's gaze lowered dejectedly. He'd neglected to include Marinette in his rambling. She thought she didn't have a place in there at all, "I DO!" he exclaimed and reached out to squeeze her hand, "But I want you there, too. I want us to do it together. We could try, couldn't we?" He looked away from her and sighed, "Look, Marinette, I realize you avoid me, but I'm willing to try and fix whatever it is I've done wrong. Wouldn't you want to at least try?"

A tear dripped down her cheek and her breath caught in her throat. Too many emotions. She pushed them back as best she could to try and speak. "I..." she choked. No more words would come out. Adrien just watched expectantly as she nodded her head. She didn't need to speak. That was enough to rocket launch Adrien to the moon and back as he slung his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. 

"Thank you, Marinette! I promise I'll try my best." _Perfect._ They sat a second while he let her recollect herself and smirked, "Do you think we should look at apartments now or...?"

Marinette's eyes widened in horror, "What?!" 

"Too soon?"

Gorilla, who had been sitting in the front seat and eavesdropping on the exchange, met his eyes in the rear-view mirror and grunted, "Too soon," affirmatively.

Marinette paled, "Your driver. Your dad." Marinette's rattled mind took his apartment implications, acknowledged them, and let them go. No need to dwell and get in a tizzy. _Abort, abort, don't read too much into it._

"He won't tell him," Adrien glanced up at the man driving who gave him a curt nod, "He's trust worthy."

Marinette let out a relieved sigh, "No, Adrien, we don't need to move so fast."

"I'm sorry. I'm already screwing things up. I just don't know how this is supposed to work. I've never really done anything on my own before or had this kind of responsibility. It's all new to me."

"Well, first, we take things slow. I'm still going to be pregnant for the next seven months or so. It's not that big of a rush to decide anything. You'll have to tell your dad, you know."

An ashen look of horror swept across his face before he squeaked, "Yeah," and gulped.

"Tell him the truth," Marinette squeezed his hand, "Tell him what happened. Your driver was there. He can vouch for you." The gorilla met Adrien's eyes. Marinette leaned forward, "Excuse me, what is your name?"

"Arthur," he rumbled.

"Arthur. Arthur knows what happened that night. He didn't know there was something wrong so he is absolved of guilt," she reassured the suddenly shifty-eyed driver. "He just knows the event took place and all those details."

"Right," Adrien nodded, "Your name is Arthur?"

Arthur nodded.

"Huh?" Adrien mused. "Never would've guessed..."

Marinette elbowed him in the ribs, "Focus here. We're going to have to talk more later and figure this all out. I'm going to stay with my parents while we work something out."

Adrien sat dumb-struck next to her now with a goofy smile plastered to his face.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded absentmindedly, "We're having a baby."

Marinette looked out her window to hide her vibrantly glowing face, "Yes, we are."

He reached out to squeeze her hand again, "I'm terrified and excited all at the same time."

"Me, too," she nodded in agreement, but didn't meet his eyes.

"Does this mean we're together now?" he asked quietly. There was a distinctly hopeful tone to his question.

Marinette jerked her head around to look at him. Was he serious? She didn't even know how to react, "Do you want to be?"

He averted his eyes down to their clasped hands and nodded, "Yes."

She smiled, "Th-then, yes."

Adrien balled his free hand into a fist and slipped the first knuckle into his mouth and looked out his window. A high pitched, excited squeal ripped out of him before he pumped it into the air excitedly.

Marinette giggled and nudged his shoulder with her own, "Me, too." Although, Marinette couldn't just squeal excitedly if she wanted to. It took all of her energy not to pass out or scream.

"I have a confession," he whispered. She looked at him expectantly and he continued, "I've never had a real girlfriend."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bowed her head shyly, "I've never had any boyfriend."

They grinned stupidly at each other and the car was suddenly much too quiet. Their eyes broke off at the same time to glance out the windows, but they squeezed the other's hand reassuringly.

"We're here," Adrien announced, glancing up at the bakery.

"Do you want to come in with me?" she asked, "We might as well get this over with now."

Adrien pulled away from her and shook his head, "I don't think I could. Marinette, your dad would break me in two."

"No, he wouldn't," she reached across the car and tugged on his arm for him to follow, "Come on. Please? I could use the support. I have to tell them I'm pregnant and you being there would mean a lot. You could help explain the situation."

"Maybe now isn't the right time?" he squeaked, "They'd probably freak out."

"Right, you're right. We shouldn't tell them all the details of how just yet, but you have to help me tell them about this," she gestured to her abdomen, "Please, Adrien?"

He huffed, "You're not going to let me get out of this one, are you? Okay. Yes. I'll go. Gor--I mean, Arthur, I'll be back."

* * *

Sabine stared starry eyed down at the sonogram in her fingers and sighed. Tom, on the other hand, glanced between the teens and the photo, "This is a lot of responsibility."

"We know, sir," Adrien nodded.

"I just told Adrien today, too, so he's a little shocked still," she glanced over to him and saw how nervous he really was. He looked calm and collected, but his hand was clammy in her own and his jaw was tensed. There were small things she noticed about him that said he was freaking out internally. She gently massaged his knuckles with the pad of her thumb.

"A baby," Sabine whispered, "It's been a long time since we've had a baby around here, hasn't it Tom?"

"It has," he nodded, "Although, I wasn't in a hurry," he glanced to Marinette and Adrien. Then he grinned, "But it's too late to cry about spilled flour now, isn't it?"

"Yes, papa," Marinette grinned.

"And are you two going to..." he gestured between the two.

"We're going to try to make it work between us," Marinette caught on, "Taking everything slowly. We need to get to know each other better first."

Tom nodded, "A brilliant idea." Then he walked over to Adrien who squeezed Marinette's hand tightly in fear. Then Tom's arms opened and he gestured with his finger tips for Adrien to bring it in. Adrien stood and Tom's arms wrapped around him vice-like, "You take care of my little girl and we'll take care of you."

Adrien nodded, "Yes. Thank you, sir."

"Not sir," Tom let out a booming laugh, "I'm any derivative of father or Tom. Sir would be reserved for Mr. Dupain and he only exists in public and in the store."

"Yes, s...Tom."

"Mom," Marinette glanced over at her mother who was still staring at the sonogram, "I get to keep that you know." She smirked, "And we can't let anyone see it. I haven't told anyone other than Adrien."

Adrien glanced over at her. He knew it wasn't a lie, but she didn't. Marinette had told one other person, but he coincidentally was also him. He smirked knowingly to himself. _Oh, Marinette._

"Alya doesn't know?" Sabine's head jerked up.

"No, mom," Marinette shook her head and bit her lip, "I don't want to spread it around just yet. I'd like to keep this quiet for a while."

"I understand," she nodded, "Although, she has been here for you an awful lot lately. You probably shouldn't wait too long to tell her."

"No, I won't. I owe her that," Marinette nodded, "I just think the time should be right, you know? Then, there's also the part about Adrien." She glanced over to him and he didn't know what she meant by that. His confusion prompted her to continue, "You're kind of the opposite of low-profile and this could be really blow up on us."

He nodded then in understanding, "Yeah, it could." One thing Adrien hated was all the attention that came with modeling. It wasn't like he had a choice in either case. "I agree with you, Marinette. What are we going to do? Pretend we don't know each other?"

She shrugged, "I guess. In public, anyway."

Sabine perked up, "You could always come over here, dear. You and Marinette could be study partners, after all."

Adrien nodded, but Marinette glanced between the both of them, "Alya would get suspicious. We couldn't do that until after we tell her."

"I suppose you're right," Adrien grumbled. That didn't mean he wouldn't be visiting her, though. He'd just have to do it as her friend Chat. Although, now that she and he had come to an agreement on their relationship he wasn't sure how she'd receive him in the mask. They'd just have to find out. _Ladybug would understand if I revealed myself to the mother of my child, right?_

"Good," she nodded and sighed as if a weight had been lifted, "Good. So we're all on the same page here. I'll find the right time to tell Alya, and we'll probably tell her and Nino together, right? Then we'll set up a study group or something."

"Right," he nodded. Adrien stared at Marinette conveying a silent thought, though, and she nodded. She knew what he was asking. They'd have to come clean about what happened that night. Both of their friends knew too much. Though Adrien hadn't told Nino too much, Nino knew something was up. Alya _had_ been informed of the details by Marinette. The least they owed their friends was the complete truth.

"And you're not upset about any of this?" Adrien asked both of Marinette's parents.

Sabine sighed, "I'm a little disappointed you all didn't wait a bit longer, because I feel you're much too young, but what can you do? I'm not going to pretend to be upset when I'm so thrilled. This is such an exciting time in a person's life."

Tom nodded, "I'm ready to be a grandpere. I admit I about swallowed my tongue when you told us, and I was a little surprised, but this is something we can handle. It's not like millions of people don't do this every day. Circumstances might be different for everyone, but the act is the same."

Adrien stood to leave, wiping his clammy hands on his jeans, and sighed, "I'm really relieved you're not going to murder me."

"And take away the struggles you'll endure by being a parent? Never," he grinned and shook Adrien's hand. Then he pulled him into a hug, "Welcome to the family, my boy. Care to take a box of croissants home with you?"

"Would I?!" Adrien's jaw dropped and he glanced over to Marinette happily, "Absolutely!"

Just after Adrien left, Marinette excused herself to run up to her room. There she had the opportunity to finally, properly lose it.


	12. Plot Thickening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chat/Ladybug
> 
> Mayor Bourgeois and Roger Raincomprix

Chat landed on the observation deck of the Eiffel and sighed. Today had been a great day between he and Marinette. They'd talked so little, but learned and accomplished so much already. A relieved sigh escaped his lips.

"Someone sounds happy!"

He flinched so hard Ladybug burst into laughter.

"Did I scare you, Chat?"

"Meow Lady, I didn't even hear you!" he grinned, "And yes, thank you, I am puuretty happy."

"I'm glad. For a while there I wasn't sure my happy kitty was coming back." There was a sincere softness in the twinkling of her eyes.

He smiled up at her, "Aww, you really do care about me."

"Dumb cat," she playfully punched his shoulder, "Of course I do."

She took a seat next to him. They sat at the edge of the tower and he bumped his shoulder against hers...kinda. If he had been about four inches shorter.

"I don't deserve you," he sighed happily.

"I know. What kind of awful things did you do in your past life? I mean, you are the embodiment of bad luck so it is fitting you end up with me as a be--"

Chat pressed a hand to her shoulder blades and pushed her off the tower. Ladybug shrieked in surprise, but caught herself with her yo-yo on the way down, and cackled with laughter as she returned.

"I deserved that," she nodded, "It could be a fluke."

"Shut up!" he chuckled, "Oh, what horrible luck. My best friend just happens to be the most beautiful, amazing, enchanting creature on the planet that would never ever consider me as more...no, wait, you're right. That's horrible luck."

She frowned, "You know that's not the case. I'd totally be into you, if I hadn't fallen head-over-heels for someone else first, and if we were able to reveal ourselves, goofball."

Chat mimicked his heart pumping out of his chest with his two hands clasped on top of each other, "Be still my beating heart. That's as close to a confession of love from you I'm ever going to get. Let me sit here for a second and let it go straight to my head."

"CHATON!" she exclaimed, "I _do_ love you. I just can't love you romantically while my heart sways a different direction. You are my absolute best friend, no doubt, and that is something I do cherish."

Chat pretended to wipe away tears, "You are too good to me. I love you, Ladybug. Yes, in all those ways considered, but I will wait. I will wait for eternity for the git you're pining for to never notice you so I can snatch you up and ravage you."

"You're unbelievable," she sighed.

"Why, thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment," she massaged the bridge of her nose, "But that, too." She grinned up at him. "Although, that 'git' I'm pining for is now my boyfriend, thank you very much."

"Oh really?! My Lady has a beau?"

"I do," she nodded proudly.

He pressed his hand proudly to the center of his chest, "Ah, well, then it might surprise you to know that I, also, have a girlfriend."

"Really?!" her eyebrows rose in disbelief.

"OUCH!" his hand on his chest clenched as he scrunched his face to look pained, "You don't believe a girl would cat fancy moi?"

She sighed, "That is _not_ what I said. Although, it is pretty convenient we happen to meet people at the same time. I don't have to feel guilty because I've left you all alone. So, your girl, what's she like?"

"Like you," he smirks, "Except _sweeter_. I think I've liked her for a while now, but needed that little push to do something about it." _And to move on from you._

"I can get behind that," she nodded. "Chat? Have you ever made a monumental mistake and then have it being one of the best things to ever happen to you?"

He sat there in thought, his lips between his lips, before he popped them loudly, "Yes."

"Good," she exhaled heavily, "I thought I might be the only one that can see silver linings anymore."

"No, I get it completely. My girlfriend and I sort of fell into our relationship that way."

"Yeah," she nodded, "Same. It's odd how life just works out sometimes, isn't it? And sometimes not."

"Sure is. Well, LB, I'm off to do my patrol and head home for some invigoratingly cerebral stimulation via my history homework."

"I see. I am off to do much of the same. Although, my bane would have to be maths. Not a fan." She wrinkled her nose with distaste and shook her head vigorously.

"Oh, My Lady, if only we could help each other. You truly are the yang to my yin. I'm all about the maths." He smirked and waggeld his eyebrows at her.

"Go on, you silly cat!" she chuckled and pushed him away, "Have a great night."

"You, too, LB!"

While standing there alone she regretted not telling him that she was pregnant. It wasn't necessarily his business, not yet anyway, but in retrospect she still wished she had. They were going to have to work something out eventually.

* * *

"You said you wanted to see me, Roger?" Mayor Bourgeois stepped into his office where Roger Raincomprix was already waiting for him.

"Yes. My close friend and former detective managed to dig up some information on a Lila Thomas. Turns out she's been running a scam around Italy for years. She is a twenty-five year old professional high school student. She's re-enrolled half a dozen times in the past six years. Each time she pulls a scam she disappears immediately after."

"And she hasn't been arrested already?"

"Well, she's never been caught," Roger shrugged, "And she usually accomplishes her scam before anyone finds out."

"So what you're telling me is..."

"We need to move fast," Roger nodded with finality, "I have my guys running traces, watching her house, and hacking her e-mails right now."

"Christ! I wanted this low-profile, Roger. Chloe might be implicated in all of this. Sabrina too!"

"Yes, sir," Roger nodded, "I don't think you understand how little time we have. Her plans are already falling apart and she could disappear at any moment. We believe she has a partner, her father, of all things."

"Her father?"

"Yes. He is a businessman, Antonio Thomas," Roger nodded and handed him a photograph.

The mayor sneered, "I know this man. He came out of nowhere as of last year. His wealth appeared practically overnight."

"Yes. They run a tiered operation. Right now they're working on a two and three year scams, simultaneously. It's kind of their niche."

"Oh?"

"Our daughters, sir, are the two year operation."

"And the three year?"

Roger hands him another file. The mayor opens up the file folder and gasps, "Does he know?"

"No, sir. Not yet."

Mayor Bourgeois sets the file down on his desk and taps it with his fingertips, "This is going to break his heart, both their hearts, if this doesn't work out."

"I know, sir," Roger nodded solemnly. "Let me not screw this up."

"Done. Do whatever you can to find her." The mayor sat down in his desk and sighed heavily, "Roger? What did you mean I'm the two year?"

Roger had begun to leave, but turned to approach the Mayor once again, "Blackmail. She will find an accomplice, one that is willing to participate, pin the entire scam on them, and then blackmail them to keep her mouth shut."

The mayor gulped, but nodded, "Well, we know that won't happen. Thank you for all your hard work."

"We have enough evidence on Lila Thomas that Chloe and Sabrina shouldn't be in a position for blackmail. It was all thanks to the quick, confrontational thinking of your daughter, sir."

"Yes," he nodded and there was a twinkle of pride in his eyes, "She is a rather precocious child."

"Tough as nails and doesn't take crap from anyone, sir."

"Just like her mother. Good afternoon, Roger."

"Good afternoon, Mayor Bourgeois." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short. Just got back from vacation and threw this together real fast. Been playing catch up ever since I got back and school just started so...wish me luck!


	13. Grandpere Agreste

Marinette's stomach was upset, and noticeably rounding now. It had been over a month since her last appointment and she fast approached the four month mark. Pretty soon she wouldn't be able to hide her pregnancy. It was time to tell Chat. She'd gone so long without showing, but it was almost like overnight she'd 'popped.' Now, the conversation would be unavoidable. Her stomach was far too distended to excuse as gas or overeating.

She stretched out on her chaise and grumbled about it for a second before getting up and clapping her hands together. "Time to fix this," she gestured to the pictures on her wall of her current baby-daddy, one Adrien Agreste. Ah, yeah, that would be an interesting conversation if she ever saw one. He'd stop by to visit, see all these posters, and go running for the hills. Nope, they'd be gone before he came up to see her. Well, she'd keep a couple up. He was still her boyfriend, and her friend, after all. She'd just have to get a few pictures of her other friends to put on her wall with him. His just happened to be more professional quality photographs which she didn't mind one bit. In fact, the one she was leaving up, front and center, made him look both sinful and angelic. It was extraordinary how they could make him look like that. His heavy lidded eyes, his sweet smile, and a light lift to his hair as he peeked over his shoulder at the camera. Yes, she liked that one a lot.

"Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed out of breath, "He's here. Adrien is here."

"WHAT?!?!" She increased the speed with which she removed the photos. There was one of her and Alya she'd planned to frame, but now was as good a time as any, to stick it up on the wall, and make it look normal for his face to be plastered up there.

"Marinette!!" Sabine called up to her room, "Adrien is here to see you, honey."

"Uh, send him up?" With a mad dash, and a flurry of Tikki, she made everything look somewhat 'normal.' At least the stalker-ish vibe was gone. With a quick hop, as the sound of footsteps on her stairs approached, she flopped down on the chaise and tried to look nonchalant.

"You ready to go?"

"Go?" she blinked over her magazine at him in confusion.

Adrien smiled sweetly at her and sat down by her feet. He tapped her calf gently, "Don't tell me you forgot."

Marinette frowned. Forgot what?

"We were going to see my father today?"

"Oh." Her eyes widened in alarm. She had entirely forgotten. "Your father. Today. That's. Oh no."

He chuckled at her and it was a delightful sound. At least he wasn't irritated. "Do you need any help?" he asked as she bolted towards her closet.

"Uh, nope, no, I'm fine. I'm just meeting my boyfriend's fashion designer father and have to find something to wear. No big deal. No pressure. Everything's copacetic."

"Marinette."

She jumped when his hand squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. _When did he move? Dang he's quiet._

"Yeah?"

"You're going to be fine," he squeezed her shoulder again, "I can help you if you let me."

"I don't know how." She huffed and her bangs flew upwards.

Adrien took a step back and held his chin in his hand as his brows wrinkled in thought. "Hmm. I realize pink is your favorite, and you're adorable in it, but the contrast of your skin tone really makes bold colors pop. Vibrant red, sapphire blue, sea green. I'd stick with something that has one of those in it. My father would subconsciously associate bold with strong and be less likely to try talking above you."

Marinette blushed and gaped at him. She knew fashion wasn't Adrien's strong suit, but apparently he'd put some thought into this. Just the fact he'd prepped in advance, to help her pick out an outfit, was flattering and warmed her heart. Plus, who best to give her advice on navigating a first meeting with his father than Adrien.

"Okay," she nodded, "Thank you, Adrien."

"Happy to help."

* * *

"Do you think they're hiding something?" Nino was sitting cross-legged on Alya's floor while she edited her latest Ladyblog post.

"Who?"

"Adrien and Marinette."

She shrugged noncommittally, "Maybe." Marinette, yes. Adrien...no idea. "Is Adrien acting strange?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's like whiplash with the guy. Last month he was all 'woe is me' and then he's like walking on air."

Alya nodded slowly and her eyes narrowed, "I can kind of see that."

"And Marinette talks to him now. I mean, where did that come from?"

This one Alya knew the answer to. Marinette lamented she couldn't be with Adrien now that she was 'tainted.' Alya knew it was a ridiculous notion, but couldn't seem to wipe the idea out of her head. Marinette had given up on pursuing him. It was safe to say she was over him and, therefore, no longer a spaz in his presence. What would she tell Nino? "I think she's over him."

Nino shook his head slowly, doubtfully, "No, I don't think that's it."

Alya whipped around to stare at him, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

At this point, Alya wanted to strangle him, "No, Nino, what would make you say that?"

"Adrien," he stated as if it was obvious. "He and Marinette hung out at her house last week. Did you know they were hanging out together outside of school?"

"NO!!" she gaped. Then she growled and pulled out her phone. Marinette had some explaining to do. What was she doing hanging out with Adrien Agreste and not telling her?

* * *

Nathalie met them at the entrance to the dining room. Marinette chose an empire waist-ed red dress that dropped clear to the floor. There was a black ribbon tied at the bust, sheer shoulders, and an ornately embroidered black pattern around the bottom. It was a simple, elegant, bright red statement, that also managed to disguise her rotund abdomen. That was the key decision making factor in this dress choice.

The door opened to reveal Gabriel Agreste standing behind the chair at the end of the table.

"Adrien," he greeted with a nod. He slowly walked around the table, taking steady, confident strides.

Adrien gestured to Marinette, "This is my girlfriend, Marinette."

She blushed and her heart stuttered at the word 'girlfriend' leaving his lips. It was still new and exciting.

He stopped in front of Marinette and bowed his head, reaching out to take her hand, "Enchanté, Mademoiselle." She allowed him to hold her fingers, his touch exceptionally light and gentle, as he barely grazed his lips against her. As he pulled away she had a strange sensation much like a butterfly landing on her skin.

"The pleasure is all mine," she smiled sweetly up at him.

"Shall we?" He gestured for them all to take a seat. Gabriel walked around to the side of the table and pulled the chair out for Marinette before stepping aside and slipping into his own. He dropped the linen napkin into his lap and patiently awaited their salad. "Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, Adrien tells me you have been dating for a while. It has only recently been brought to my attention, so I am curious if you could enlighten me on how this all came to be."

There was an underlying sharpness there she could detect. It wasn't hard for her to realize what he was referring to was Chloe and Adrien's mock relationship. Gabriel was a man of principle and would probably be appalled if his son had been dating one, fake or not, and then entertaining another relationship simultaneously. It was crass and unacceptable. He didn't want to call them out, bluntly, but he did want to analyze the virtues of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"The night he and Chloe Bourgeois broke up he offered me a ride home," she stated quietly. It was partially true, after all.

"I see. Adrien, what ever happened between you and Mlle. Bourgeois?"

Adrien cleared his throat nervously, "A broken trust."

"Ah," Gabriel nodded, "Understandable." He didn't believe his words. There was truth, to a certain extent, but an underlying insincerity.

Marinette felt like she was sitting in a very precarious situation, all of a sudden. The formal exchange was baffling. She could see the pleasantness above the table, but for some reason she felt like they each had weapons pointed at each other which made her extremely uncomfortable.

Salad was delivered and there was a break in the tension.

Adrien glanced over to Marinette nervously, "We have something we'd like to discuss, father."

His head began to bob in a soft nod. "I could only assume when you requested my presence," he leveled, deadpan.

"Ah, yes. Well, Marinette and I had a bit much to drink that night."

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air.

"And...?" Gabriel prompted.

"We made a mistake. Marinette and I were together and she is pregnant with my child."

Gabriel chewed a bite of his salad slowly. There wasn't a hint of tension, only deep thought as he nodded, "How far along is Mlle. Dupain-Cheng."

"We're keeping the baby," Adrien exclaimed, defensively, as he grasped Marinette's hand under the table.

Gabriel suppressed an eye roll, "That much is obvious, Adrien. I doubt I would be learning of Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's pregnancy if you had decided to get rid of it."

Marinette glanced between Gabriel and Adrien. She tried to gauge their reactions; Adrien was taken by surprise and Gabriel appeared calm, collected.

"You're going to be a grandpere," Adrien said slowly, "Congratulations?"

Gabriel did roll his eyes this time, but his lips twitched at the edges with amusement. "When is this blessed bebe to arrive?"

"My due date is April 30th," she answered innocently.

Adrien and Gabriel exchanged a knowing glance. It was one she would have missed had she not been paying such close attention.

"What is it?" she asked when neither one of them said anything.

"That is father's birthday," Adrien whispered.

Gabriel nodded and set his napkin on the table to await the next course. " Nathalie?"

The woman in question had silently entered through the side entrance of the dining room and was quietly nursing a green concoction. She stepped forward and set it on the dining table. Marinette thought perhaps that was poor manners, but Gabriel didn't seem to think anything of it.

"I suppose you two will need a place to live," he dictated to Nathalie who had pulled out her tablet. "We need to get Mlle. Dupain-Cheng the best obstetrics doctor in Paris, set up a nursery, and plan a wedding. Nothing big, just family and friends, keep it small so the media doesn't have a field day."

Marinette felt like she was going to pass out.

"Wait!" Adrien interrupted, "What do you mean...wedding? Apartment?"

"I will not have my son fathering a child with a woman he did not marry," his father stated calmly, "If you are married, it is a reasonable expectation for you to live together, no?"

"I...I didn't think that far--" he glanced over to Marinette who had paled. "Marinette?"

"I insist, Adrien," Gabriel pushed firmly, "I will provide a maid service, and nanny, if necessary. I only have a few conditions."

Adrien rolled his eyes. Here they come.

"First, you both finish school. I won't have either of my grandchild's parents uneducated, second, a paternity test. I'm not saying Adrien isn't the father, but should it get out the media could spread rumors. Either way, I can tell he is determined to father your child, regardless. He is hard headed like his mother so I won't even try to dissuade him. Third, and finally, Adrien will maintain all work obligations."

"We haven't even discussed this ourselves, father." Marinette squeezed Adrien's hand reassuringly. He appeared to be freaking out a little.

"Please do so we can get a move on the planning," Gabriel sighed exasperatedly. The main course arrived and he cut into his chicken breast with clean, precise movement. It was like watching him play an instrument as he maneuvered his food on the plate. Adrien was the same. Marinette felt like a slob.

"We could, you know," she whispered, "You said you wanted to do it all."

"Would you be okay with that?"

"If you are, I'm not opposed."

"Is that a yes?"

"I'd like a proposal," she smirked and turned away with a blush. Her sudden rush of confidence was refreshing, and unusual, outside of the mask, but she liked it.

Adrien smirked, "I'll see what I can do."

"We could maybe have a trial run, you know? Before we make any big decisions."

Adrien choked down his piece of chicken and nodded, "I suppose."

"This weekend?"

"You could stay the night," he prompted.

They glanced over to his father who was silently eating his meal. Adrien couldn't figure his father out. His reaction was completely unexpected.

"Father?"

"Yes, Adrien."

"Could Marinette stay the weekend?" He waited only a second, his eyes widening at how that sounded, "Before we agree to anything permanent we thought maybe we could have a chance to see what it would be like to live together first."

Gabriel glanced over at Nathalie, who gave a minute nod, "I suppose, yes, that is reasonable. I'm amenable to your proposition."

"Thank you, father," Adrien grinned, "Thank you, Nathalie." Nathalie's nod was the deciding answer. His father didn't know his schedule, but Nathalie had probably cleared it for him.

_Thank you, Nathalie._

* * *

"Yes, maman. I know. I'm not moving in with him. It's just for the weekend. Yes. I know. He has clothes he can lend me. Love you, too. Good night!"

"So...?"

Marinette rolled her eyes, "She doesn't really like the idea of staying over this weekend. The holidays are fast approaching and they really hoped I could help out. She thought I was going to move in and stay without coming back to help."

"And the clothes?"

Marinette blushed, "She wanted to make sure I was decent the entire time I'm here. I told her you would lend me something to sleep in. I can pick up clothes tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," he nodded, "And we'll go shopping or something."

They sat awkwardly on his couch. It was strange to be in his room, alone, with the knowledge she wouldn't be going home at all and soon they'd be stretched out next to each other on his bed. The silence dragged on before they both started to talk.

"Do you want to watch/Should we watch a...movie?" It was followed by laughter which was enough to break the tension.

"What do you want to see?" he asked.

"Uh, surprise me!"

They settled down to watch a film. Adrien didn't know exactly what to do, but he couldn't make his intentions known by sitting there like a log. He reached over and tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Marinette's eyes widened, but she didn't shirk him off. She let him lean her towards him, allowing her shoulder to notch itself beneath his arm, and sighed when she nestled against the side of him.

"Is this okay?" he asked as an after thought.

"Yes," she nodded. Technically, they'd done a whole lot more. They should be able to sit next to each other, right? They were supposed to become more comfortable with each other. That was the point of this exercise.

"You're not uncomfortable, are you?"

"Adrien," she glanced up at him, "It feels really nice, actually."

He smiled at her, "I like it, too."

They ended up chatting while they sat on the couch. Marinette absentmindedly played with the skin on the back of Adrien's hand. She drew patterns on it, pulled it up to pinch it between her fingers, and wrapped her hands around to squeeze it gently.

"I love stickers," Adrien confessed, "Like I think I might have a problem. It's an addiction I don't even want to break. What about you? Anything?"

"Lip gloss," she grimaced, "And paper. I don't know why. I just have always loved paper."

"I guess we'll just have to avoid the stationary store if we don't want to go broke," he grinned.

"Ooh, or take up scrapbooking! Rose got me sort of hooked on it, but I haven't really had anyone to scrapbook with."

Adrien squeezed her gently, "Looks like we have found a hobby we can try to do together."

"Absolutely! Hey, what's your favorite holiday?"

"The New Year, you?"

"Noel!" she chuckled, "We could have a huge week long celebration every year."

"That's a great idea. We'll have to come up with something extra special for the baby's first Christmas."

Marinette suddenly felt warmth pooling in her abdomen where she knew a little life was growing; their baby. It was still hard for her to come to terms with the fact that she and Adrien had sex and conceived a baby together. There was a photograph and everything. She'd heard the heartbeat. It still didn't seem 'real' sometimes. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt like it wouldn't feel real until their baby was snuggled up in her arms.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked in response to her sudden silence.

She shook her head, "Nothing."

He dropped his chin and cocked an eyebrow at her, "Communication is important, Marinette."

"It just doesn't seem real."

"What doesnt?"

"Any of it. None of this seems real. The baby, what your dad wants, you?"

"Me? I assure you, I am very real," he smiled.

"I know," she averted her eyes shyly, "That isn't really what I meant."

He waited patiently in anticipation for her to continue.

"I've liked you for a long time," she whispered.

He barely caught it. "You have?"

"Yes. I just never thought I'd ever need, let alone have the guts, to tell you."

He chuckled softly and planted a kiss on her temple, "Marinette, you are something else."

"Is that good or...?"

"Definitely good."

They decided it was about time to get ready to bed, but continued their conversations. Marinette and Adrien also shared a love of puzzles; cross words, jigsaw, mystery dramas on television, all of it.

"Here's a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt."

Marinette caught the clothes as they were tossed her direction. She sneaked into the bathroom to change. His clothes were a little big, but she cinched down the shorts to keep them up and didn't worry about the shirt. When she came out of the bathroom he was already changed and lying in the bed. Marinette's breath hitched when she saw his bare shoulders. Adrien slept _shirtless._

He caught her wide-eyed stare and glanced down self-consciously, "I'm not naked, I swear! I just hate sleeping in shirts. I can, if it'll make you more comfortable, but I thought this whole weekend thing was supposed to get you used to my usual so you're not surprised, right?"

"Right," she nodded, but was still blushing a slight pink. "It's fine."

He grinned, "Okay. I mean, these abs are in high demand and can't be found in any photograph in any magazine. They are yours and yours alone to look at if you like."

Marinette chuckled nervously, "You are a dork."

"What? I can't help it that my dad swears the secrets sell magazines."

"It's true," she shrugged, "He's not wrong."

Adrien bit his lip, "Yeah? Did you buy magazines so you could imagine what I looked like with my shirt off?"

"Yes," she admitted brazenly.

"Ho, ho! Really?!?" He was blushing suddenly as he looked away and pressed a palm to his cheek, "I'm flattered. I didn't, ahem, expect that boldness. How candid? Whew. Okay then. Just so you know, I have a 'no torso exposure' clause in my contract so you're the only one that gets to see. My father even insists I swim in a rash guard. I can't shower in the locker room. He's paranoid about sneaky photographers and our classmates with cell phones."

She crawled over to where he was lying and curled up against his side, on top of the comforter, "I'm the luckiest girl in Paris then, huh?"

He blushed even more and covered his face with his hands, "You realize my ego is growing exponentially right now, right?"

"Is that what you call it?" she bit her lip and poked his chest with a giggle.

He jerked his head up to gape at her in shock, "Marinette!?! I'm...I'm...stunned!! You...you..." He wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her face down to bury in his chest, "We're learning all kinds of things tonight, aren't we?"

"I suppose," she snickered.

And that wasn't all. That night, Adrien discovered that Marinette talks in her sleep. It involved cats and torn fabric, of all things. Not to mention she was a spectacular blanket hog. Marinette, was treated to the terrifically cuddly Adrien. He learned that he could stay sufficiently covered if he'd just wrap himself as tightly around Marinette as possible. She didn't seem to complain.

The next morning, they woke up locked in each other's arms. It was a touch awkward, as they blushed madly and greeted each other shyly. 

"Morning." Adrien's voice was rough with sleep and Marinette buried her forehead in his chest to hide the smile it elicited.

"Good morning," she replied quietly.

"Do you need a shower or anything?"

"Please," she nodded.

"You go first."

"No, you can."

"I insist. I take a while."

Marinette took the first shower because Adrien assured her it was the smart choice. She understood when it took him an additional half hour, after getting out of the shower, to do his normal morning routine.

"Does it always take that long?" Marinette asked as he combed his hair. She was standing in his doorway observing him.

He smirked, "Usually. Although, I only exfoliate once every other week, on Saturday mornings."

"Which is today," she grinned, "So I am getting the full show."

He waggled his eyebrows, "How are you liking it so far?"

"Intriguing. I wash with soap and water. I might use a cleanser once a week."

Adrien's eyes widened, "Oh, my goodness, Marinette! How do you have such beautiful skin?"

"Genetics?"

Adrien glanced down at her abdomen, "Lucky."

"What about you? Is all this necessary?"

"Not necessary," he shrugged, "I don't remember what my skin was like before, though. I think it was a little on the oily side. I never had trouble with it, but my dermatologist gave me this regime so I just always do it. Now it's more of a habit than anything."

"I see. It's nice knowing I'm not going to be the high maintenance one when it comes to the bathroom."

He glared, "You're missing out. This is something we could have done together every morning." He clicked his tongue and sighed sadly, "Ah, well, you'll be missing out."

"I'll just get extra baby cuddles." Marinette stuck her tongue out childishly.

Adrien gasped and pouted, "That's not fair."

"It sounds fair to me, baby face."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this was mostly a fluff/relationship building chapter and not a lot of plot. It just kept getting longer and longer on me so I decided this was a good stopping point to post.
> 
> **Now Gabriel knows and he took it rather well.  
> \--Then again, he's not a hypocrite and Adrien was a _surprise._  
>  **They're moving right along in the acceptance/getting-to-know-you department.  
> **Conceived in the first month of school, due at the end of April. Very rarely do babies actually arrive on their due date. (My experience...1) 8 days late, 2&3) mono-di twins got induced early.)


	14. Judge Not

The phone rang at Nathalie's desk just before quitting time. She glanced down at her watch; who was she kidding, there was no such thing as quitting time.

"This is the office of Gabriel Agreste. Nathalie Sancoeur speaking, what is the purpose of your call?"

"Good evening, Nathalie, this is Sophie at Mayor Bourgeois's office. He would like to request a meeting with Gabriel Agreste at his earliest convenience."

"So you want to meet with him tomorrow? A Saturday."

"Convenience. If that isn't convenient then no."

"It is as convenient as any other time, I suppose," Nathalie mumbled, "I will notify him of the change in schedule. He can receive you tomorrow at 9:00 am."

"Thank you!''

* * *

Antonio Thomas leaned back in his chair and smirked over at his sneering 'daughter.'

"I don't know what you're so pleased about, _babbo_. That Chloe Bourgeois royally fucked us over. She squealed to her pops and now we're sitting with a year of hard earned work down the drain."

He sighed and shook his head and glanced out the window, "Sounds like you need to find a man and stop shouting at me."

Although, Lila was the brains behind their operation, Antonio carried more responsibility as far as the public was concerned. Though he wasn't, technically, her father.

Lila shrieked in irritation, "This isn't about being sexually frustrated! You really think I'm this pissed just because I didn't get fucked by the golden child? Sure, it's disappointing, but that's what I keep you around for." She gestured at him angrily, "This whole operation is a bust. We're going to have to move."

Antonio was thirty years Lila's senior, and she apparently had an attraction to older men.

He held his hand up and her huffing quieted, "It is not a bust. We will just have to be more creative."

"Like," she came around to stand in front of him. His hands went to the arms of his chair and allowed for her to drop into his lap.

"We'll just push up the timeline, that's all." He wrapped his hands around her stomach and pulled her against his chest, "Nothing to worry about."

He felt her relax and she grinned, "Sure. We could just ask for more, right? I mean, the Agreste's are loaded; more so than we'd ever anticipated."

"Thinking we were a bit too ambitious in choosing them as a target?"

"Psssh," she patted his cheek playfully, "Of course not."

He pulled away to look at her speculatively, "So you are amenable to the new course of action?"

She grinned and winked, "Why don't we take this somewhere more _comfortable_ so I can express my appreciation."

* * *

Gabriel Agreste sat at his table awaiting Mayor Bourgeois and the Chief of Police, Roger Raincomprix. There were no details provided to him as to what this meeting was about and it had him a bit anxious. He knew they hadn't discovered his identity as Hawk Moth. Nathalie assured him the secretary made it sound like they were distraught more than accusatory.

The door cracked open and Gabriel stood to greet his guests. The Mayor walked right up to him and took his hand in both of his own, "Good morning, Gabriel. I am sorry this meet was such short notice."

"Don't be," Gabriel nodded, "Chief."

Roger Raincomprix shook his hand and nodded, "Mr. Agreste."

Gabriel gestured for them all to take a seat. The Mayor took his seat to Gabriel's right and Roger to his left. Roger appeared to shift uncomfortably in his chair while his eyes darted around the room. Mayor Bourgeois clasped his hands on the table and cleared his throat.

"I'm afraid there is no pleasant lead in to this meeting. Roger?"

Mr. Raincomprix brought out a large manila folder and dropped it onto the table. He slid it in front of Gabriel and shook his head sadly.

"We have some grave matters to discuss with you today. We'll go through everything we know, up to this point, and then we can discuss. Yes?"

Gabriel gulped. That anxiety was now a bile burning at the back of his throat. He nodded once rigidly, "Yes."

"Roger?" The Mayor gestured to Mr. Raincomprix who looked as if he were loathed to be given this responsibility.

"Mr. Agreste, you reported your wife missing a year ago. At that time your son began requesting to go to public school. Our records indicate that Mme. Agreste has been missing for the course of that entire year and we had, up until a few weeks ago, had no leads." Gabriel's eyes widened at the implication that they had leads now. Roger flipped open the folder and dropped a picture of Lila Thomas in front of him. "This is Lila Rossi. She was enrolled at Francois Dupont the same year Adrien began attending."

Mayor Bourgeois jumped in, "It was brought to our attention, by my daughter, that she is not who she says she is."

"No," Roger shook his head sadly, "She is not. We will get to that later. Lila Rossi is actually one Lila Thomas." He pulled out a photo of Antonio. "This is her father, Antonio Thomas. They left Italy two years ago after they pulled off an elaborate scam. They have pulled it off twice now and are in the process of doing it again."

"What kind of scam?" Gabriel asked glancing between the two men at the table.

The Mayor spoke up, "Lila is twenty-six years old, but appears to be the age of a high school student. They kidnap the matriarch or patriarch of a well-to-do family and then hold them for ransom."

Gabriel paled, "You mean to tell me they have my _wife_?!?!" He stood up, slammed his hands on the table, and roared, "What are you doing to get her back?!"

"It isn't that simple," Roger continued, "We do not know where they are keeping her. We do know they have her as Antonio has taken out multiple prescriptions of benzodiazepines for one Celine _Thomas."_

"Agreste," Gabriel seethed.

"Yes, we believe so," Mayor Bourgeois nodded, "It gets worse."

Gabriel jerked his head in his direction and boomed, "How can it get any worse?"

Roger flinched and pulled out a photo from Italy. There was a boy who looked distraught and broken. "They then approach a son of the kidnapped victim and convince him that he's impregnated Lila with his child; which has never been the case. They then extort the remaining Matriarch or Patriarch for money; with the assurance that she will abort the baby if they pay. If they refuse, they then reveal that they have kidnapped the other guardian and ask for a ransom."

Gabriel gulped and turned green. _Adrien._

"Your son has been targeted by Mlle Thomas."

"He hasn't," Gabriel said weakly, "Or he hasn't said anything."

"That is because she was not successful." Mayor Bourgeois explained, "My daughter, Chloe, was duped by Mlle. Thomas into participating in her plan."

Gabriel glared at Mayor Bourgeois, but the Mayor continued nervously.

"She had no idea what the intent was," he placated and held his hands out defensively, "She has surrendered all conversations between herself and Lila Thomas for evidence in this case we are building against the Thomases."

"Chloe does not claim innocence," Roger added. Mayor Bourgeois's face flushed and became pinched with rage, but he didn't say anything. "She and Sabrina both. Lila gave Chloe one of the pills they use for Celine and dropped it into Adrien's drink. The plan was that he would pass out, they'd sneak him out the back, she'd take some compromising pictures with him, and then leave him with Lila to do as she wished. They were never going to leave him with Lila."

Gabriel gripped the table and dropped his head in despair.

"It didn't work out as planned," Mayor Bourgeois reassured, "As Adrien disappeared at the masquerade ball and was not seen again that night."

The picture of how Mlle. Dupain-Cheng had become impregnated was suddenly more clear. Though he was immensely pleased he had handled the situation with well measured calm when delivered the news. Now, he was feeling guilty for the internal judgement of their choices. Also, that he had been a party to putting them in that situation to begin with. That in and of itself made his chest ache. He would have to talk to Adrien immediately. "It was my fault," he lamented, "I asked him to take Mlle. Chloe out for a few dates for publicity and now..."

"His crisis has been averted," Roger interrupted, "The reason we have been informed is because the plan didn't work. Chloe was upset, and scared, and confessed everything. This is how we discovered everything about Lila, Antonio, and their connection to the disappearance of your wife. This is all we have for now. We would like to discuss it more once we have gathered more evidence; maybe conduct some interviews. Do you have any questions?"

"No."

"We will be on our way," Mayor Bourgeois stood and decided it best not to try and shake his hand. Not with the way his daughter had behaved. The one time in his life he was truly ashamed of her.

"Have a good day, Mr. Agreste," Roger Raincomprix nodded.

Gabriel stood with a responding nod; a sign for them to go. As soon as the door closed, Gabriel collapsed on top of the table, shaking like a leaf and barely able to support himself on his arms as they trembled so forcefully. Moments later, he stood up swiftly and clasped his hands over his mouth as he ran to the nearest toilet as fast as his feet could carry him. There he quickly evacuated the contents of his stomach with a violent lurch.

"Mr. Agreste?" Nathalie called from the other room, "Are you all right?"

"I'm not feeling well," he called through the door, "Cancel my appointments for the day...and I want to talk to Adrien."

"Yes, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so all you beautiful commenters know, I really appreciate the ideas you have, the effort you put into analyzing everything, your ability to keep me honest, and the personal glimpses you share into your lives. I am grateful and humbled.  
> The world isn't all hearts and rainbows, I know that, but just this little bit of light warms me. I appreciate every little bit of generosity you bestow on me just by putting out an effort to reach out to a complete stranger and share a piece of yourself; from an exclamation of enthusiasm to a personal story. I love it all. You are the most awesome strangers I feel like I somewhat know. ;)  
> This fandom is awesome!  
> Hugs to you all!

**Author's Note:**

> I want those of you who review to know that I am grateful for your critiques, words of encouragement, and appreciation.


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